The benefits and acceptability of virtual reality interventions for women with metastatic breast cancer in their homes; a pilot randomised trial

Abstract

Background Women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) report debilitating physical and psychological symptoms, including fatigue, anxiety, and pain, that greatly impact their quality of life. Immersive virtual reality (VR) has been proposed as an adjunctive pain therapy for patients with cancer, and evidence suggests it may also decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess whether VR should be pursued as a feasible and acceptable adjunctive therapy to alleviate physical and psychological symptoms in women with MBC. Methods We conducted a pilot study testing the acceptability and efficacy of VR interventions with MBC patients to improve quality of life and to produce enduring decreases in fatigue, pain, depression, anxiety, and stress. Participants completed two different week-long VR experiences, reporting the prevalence of symptoms immediately before and after each study week, and 48 h later. Linear mixed models including fixed effects (VR intervention, counterbalancing order, and study week) and random effects (participant) were used to assess the effect of immersive VR on all outcome measures. Results Thirty-eight women with MBC completed the VR interventions and were included in analyses. Significant improvements post-intervention and/or 48 h later were demonstrated for quality of life, fatigue, pain, depression, anxiety, and stress. Across the entire study period, these differences met the criteria of a clinically important difference for quality of life, fatigue, depression, and stress. Participants reported feelings of relaxation and enjoyment and were highly likely to use the interventions gain. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that VR experiences offer enduring benefits to the physical and psychological well-being of women with MBC. VR interventions are a feasible and acceptable intervention that can be conducted in a patient’s own home. Such interventions are worthy of future investigation as a novel approach to improving quality of life in a patient population that have often been overlooked. Trial registration Prospectively registered on 25th October 2019 with Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ref: ACTRN12619001480178).

Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Systems for Cancer Survivors: A Narrative Review of the Literature

“…Reynolds et al conducted a pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of two different VRR interventions on pain, CRF, and quality of life [54]. The study involved two groups of 19 and 20 women with metastatic breast cancer who were asked to participate in an immersive home-based VR intervention.…”

“…Of the clinical trials, four compared VRR to a standard rehabilitation program [48,50,51,55]. One study involved an immersive VR program [54], while the remaining eight studies used non-immersive VR technology. As for the population considered by the clinical trials, five of the included studies involved breast cancer survivors [48,50,51,53,54].…”

“…One study involved an immersive VR program [54], while the remaining eight studies used non-immersive VR technology. As for the population considered by the clinical trials, five of the included studies involved breast cancer survivors [48,50,51,53,54]. As for the outcomes considered, four of the retrieved studies tested VRR on more than one physical impairment [50,51,53,54].…”

“…As for the population considered by the clinical trials, five of the included studies involved breast cancer survivors [48,50,51,53,54]. As for the outcomes considered, four of the retrieved studies tested VRR on more than one physical impairment [50,51,53,54]. Overall, we found four studies testing the efficacy of VRR on chronic pain [50,51,53,54], two studies on cancer fatigue [52,54], two studies on lymphedema-related excessive arm volume [48,50], one on cognitive function [53], four on motor performance impairment [48,50,51,53], and two on chemotherapy-induced polyneuropathy [49,55].…”

“…As for the outcomes considered, four of the retrieved studies tested VRR on more than one physical impairment [50,51,53,54]. Overall, we found four studies testing the efficacy of VRR on chronic pain [50,51,53,54], two studies on cancer fatigue [52,54], two studies on lymphedema-related excessive arm volume [48,50], one on cognitive function [53], four on motor performance impairment [48,50,51,53], and two on chemotherapy-induced polyneuropathy [49,55]. Finally, we here report the results of the two included studies considering adherence rates as an outcome [52,56].…”