Sharma, M., Haider, T., & Knowlden, A.P. (2013). Yoga as an alternative and complementary treatment for cancer: A systematic review. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 19, 870-875.

STUDY PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy of yoga as a treatment option in cancer

TYPE OF STUDY: Systematic review

DATABASES USED: CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Alt Healthwatch

KEYWORDS: Yoga and cancer and intervention or program

INCLUSION CRITERIA: Quantitative design; measured anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, pain, quality of life, and/or stress as an outcome; published since 2010; English language; included any form of yoga as part of or the entire treatment of cancer

EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Not quantitative design

TOTAL REFERENCES RETRIEVED: N = 135

EVALUATION METHOD AND COMMENTS ON LITERATURE USED: No specific method of evaluating study quality is reported.

• FINAL NUMBER STUDIES INCLUDED: N = 13
• SAMPLE RANGE ACROSS STUDIES: 536 total
• TOTAL PATIENTS INCLUDED IN REVIEW: Range = 4-240
• KEY SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS: Six studies involved only patients with breast cancer; two involved parents of children or adolescents with cancer.

PHASE OF CARE: Multiple phases of care

APPLICATIONS: Pediatrics

Of four studies examining effect on anxiety, two showed no effect and two showed a significant positive effect. One of these was a positive effect on parents. Two studies showed a positive effect for fatigue, and one showed no effect for fatigue. There were no effects seen for depression. One study showed a positive effect for sleep, and one showed no effect for sleep. One study of 18 breast cancer survivors showed a postitive effect for fatigue immediately after the intervention. Six of the studies used a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. Duration and dosing of the yoga intervention varied substantially across studies. All of the studies used an instructor for the duration of the intervention. Methods of measurement used varied.

Insufficient evidence exists to draw firm conclusions about yoga’s role and effect in cancer treatment.

There were few studies, and most had very small sample sizes. No information regarding the quality of the studies was included, other than general design, as this included both RCTs and quasiexperimental studies.

There is limited evidence regarding the effects of yoga as a complementary approach in cancer treatment.