Hernandez-Reif, M., Ironson, G., Field, T., Hurley, J., Katz, G., Diego, M., . . . Burman, I. (2004). Breast cancer patients have improved immune and neuroendocrine functions following massage therapy. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57, 45–52.

Patients were randomized to receive massage therapy or standard treatment. The massage therapy group received 15 massages that were 3–30 minutes long per week by a trained massage therapist for four weeks. The control group received standard medical care alone.

• N = 34
• FEMALES: 100%
• KEY DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Stage I or II breast cancer
• OTHER KEY SAMPLE CHRACTERISTICS: At least three months post-treatment

• Randomized

• Participants were assessed for anxiety.
• Mood scales used three standardized assessment tools: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Profile of Mood States (POMS), and Symptom Checklists-90-R (SCL-90-R).
• Immune and neuroendocrine functions were monitored using blood levels of specific immune system markers.

Massage did show some benefit in patient mood scale assessment tools and immune system function. Specifically, reduced anxiety was found on the STAI after the first and last sessions. Reduced depression was found on the POMS depression score after the first and last sessions and from the first to the last day of the study. The SCL-90-R confirmed a reduction in depression from the first to the last day. Wilcoxon’s matched-pairs signed-ranks tests revealed an increase in dopamine and serotonin levels in the massage group; the control group showed a significant increase in norepinephrine. Natural killer cell cytotoxicity did not attain significance.

• The study only looked at the short-term benefit to patients.
• Long-term effectiveness was not demonstrated.
• Sample size was small; participants had early-stage breast cancer diagnoses.
• Patients were randomized based on a coin toss.