Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/530196
SOMATIC RESE ARCH The results of the meta-analysis demonstrate that massage therapy signifi cantly improved breast cancer patients' symptoms of anger (based on four studies) and fatigue (based on fi ve studies). However, no signifi cant improvements were demonstrated for anxiety, cortisol levels, depression, health- related quality of life, upper limb lymphedema or pain. As with the previous meta-analysis, the main limitations of this study include the type and stage of cancer; the massage form, duration, number of sessions, and therapists' qualifi cations; lack of blinding within the studies leading to expectation bias; other methodological problems within the studies; and the international nature of the studies possibly leading to differences in outcomes. For this review, no articles included all of the outcomes of interest, leading to a very small amount of data to analyze for each outcome measure. CONCLUSIONS 1. When data from all types of cancer are combined, massage therapy appears to be benefi cial for cancer pain related to chemotherapy, metastases, and surgery. 2. Massage therapy may also improve anger and fatigue in subjects with breast cancer. 3. Very little is known about the benefi cial effects of massage therapy for specifi c types and stages of cancer. Because each patient is unique, you should work very closely with your client and her health-care team to determine what type of massage therapy is the best for her condition as well as the amount and duration of care. 4. Larger, more rigorous trials on massage therapy for cancer-related pain are needed. Notes 1. S. H. Lee et al., "Meta-Analysis of Massage Therapy on Cancer Pain," Integrative Cancer Therapies March 17 (2015). 2. Y. Q. Pan et al., "Massage Interventions and Treatment-Related Side Effects of Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," International Journal of Clinical Oncology 19, no. 5 (October 2014): 829–41. Jerrilyn Cambron, DC, PhD, MPH, LMT, is an educator at the National University of Health Sciences and president of the Massage Therapy Foundation. Contact her at jcambron@nuhs.edu. Massage therapy may also improve anger and fatigue in subjects with breast cancer.