Kind of blue: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of music interventions in cancer treatment

Abstract

Music may be a tool in reducing anxiety, pain, and improving mood among patients with cancer in active treatment. However, methodological limitations in the studies conducted so far prevent firm conclusions.

Music Therapy in the Psychosocial Treatment of Adult Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Considering the meta-analytical results, the effects of music therapy were small but significant for all three outcome categories. In comparison with previously reported findings (Archie et al, 2013;Bradt et al, 2016;Bro et al, 2018), the effect sizes in our meta-analysis were smaller. One reason might be the inclusion of similar outcomes in one category rather than one meta-analysis for each outcome which would have increased statistical bias due to multiple testing.…”

“…As the number of sessions partially moderated the effects in our analysis, future studies are encouraged to employ longitudinal study designs to assess the long-term impact. With regard to moderators, interesting factors like experiences with and preferences of music (Bro et al, 2018) could not be taken into account because they are rarely assessed in studies. Still, as the individual relationship with music plays a key role in music therapy, further research should consider examining aspects of the patients' musical background, such as subjective value of music in one's life, years of musical and instrumental training and years of active musical participation, preference of musical style or prior amount of experience with music therapy, as potential modulating variables.…”

“…Music therapy is a frequently used complementary and creative arts treatment in psychosocial cancer care (Bro et al, 2018). The general goal is to relieve symptom distress and to improve quality of life of patients in various stages of an oncological disease.…”

“…Previous reviews and meta-analyses of music interventions in oncology have shown positive effects on anxiety, depression, fatigue, and pain as well as physiological parameters (heart rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure) in cancer patients (Boyde et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2012;Archie et al, 2013;Nightingale et al, 2013;Tsai et al, 2014;Bradt et al, 2016;Bro et al, 2018;Stützlinger et al, 2018;Gramaglia et al, 2019). However, the validity of these reviews was often restricted with regard to the inclusion or exclusion of certain patient populations, outcomes or interventions, which impeded a general conclusion about the quantitative effect of music therapy in adult cancer patients.…”

“…For instance, one review was limited to evidence available in Chinese (Zhang et al, 2012), while other meta-analyses included studies with underage cancer patients (Boyde et al, 2012;Bradt et al, 2016), which from a clinical point of view requires a considerably distinct therapeutic approach. Another recent metaanalysis (Bro et al, 2018) included only cancer patients who underwent curative treatment while studies investigating patients in other treatment phases (e.g., during diagnoses, rehabilitation, or palliative care) were excluded. Similarly, some reviews focused solely on palliative care (Archie et al, 2013;Gramaglia et al, 2019) or included studies with music medicine interventions (Nightingale et al, 2013;Tsai et al, 2014).…”