Bradt, J., Dileo, C., Magill, L., & Teague, A. (2016). Music interventions for improving psychological and physical outcomes in cancer patients. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 8, CD006911. 

DOI Link

Purpose

STUDY PURPOSE: To assess and compare the effects of music therapy and music medicine interventions for psychological and physical outcomes in people with cancer

TYPE OF STUDY: Meta-analysis and systematic review

Search Strategy

DATABASES USED: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2016, Issue 1), MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, LILACS, Science Citation Index, CancerLit, CAIRSS, Proquest Digital Dissertations, ClinicalTrials.gov, Current Controlled Trials, the RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, http://www.wfmt.info/Musictherapyworld, and the National Research Register
 
INCLUSION CRITERIA: Randomized and quasirandomized controlled in adult and pediatric patients with cancer
 
EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Patients undergoing biopsy and aspiration for diagnostic purposes; not a randomized or quasirandomized, controlled trial; insufficient data reporting; unacceptable methodological quality; not a music intervention; not exclusively patients with cancer; article could not be located; not a population of interest; use of healthy controls; use of nonstandardized measurement tools

Literature Evaluated

TOTAL REFERENCES RETRIEVED: 1,187
 
EVALUATION METHOD AND COMMENTS ON LITERATURE USED: Risk of bias was evaluated. Most studies were deemed to be of high risk of bias.

Sample Characteristics

  • FINAL NUMBER STUDIES INCLUDED = 39 studies in meta-analysis, 52 studies in qualitative review
  • TOTAL PATIENTS INCLUDED IN REVIEW = 3,313
  • SAMPLE RANGE ACROSS STUDIES: 8–182
  • KEY SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS: Various tumor types and age groups during multiple phases of care

Phase of Care and Clinical Applications

PHASE OF CARE: Multiple phases of care

Results

The standard mean difference for fatigue in the music intervention group was 0.38 (7 studies, 253 participants, p = 0.03). Anxiety was reduced with music (13 studies, 1,028 patients, mean difference = –8.54, p < 0.0001). Results also showed a positive effect for depression (7 studies, 723 participants, standard mean difference = –0.4, p = 0.02).

Conclusions

Music interventions also had a small to moderate beneficial effect on fatigue, anxiety, and depression.

Limitations

  • Mostly low quality/high risk of bias studies
  • High heterogeneity

Nursing Implications

Music therapy may have a small to moderate effect on fatigue, anxiety, and depression.

Legacy ID

6276