Haller, H., Winkler, M.M., Klose, P., Dobos, G., Kummel, S., & Cramer, H. (2017). Mindfulness-based interventions for women with breast cancer: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Oncologica, 56, 1665–1676.

STUDY PURPOSE: To systematically review the evidence for mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for women with breast cancer.

TYPE OF STUDY: Meta-analysis and systematic review

DATABASES USED: PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, Central

YEARS INCLUDED: No restrictions for time 

INCLUSION CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials, adults with breast cancer, MBSR or MBCT or variations of each

EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Heterogeneous cancer populations (unless data for breast cancer were reported separately), interventions that were clearly different from MBSR or MBCT

TOTAL REFERENCES RETRIEVED: 608 in initial search, 14 in final analyses

EVALUATION METHOD AND COMMENTS ON LITERATURE USED: Appropriate

FINAL NUMBER STUDIES INCLUDED: 14 articles on 10 studies 

TOTAL PATIENTS INCLUDED IN REVIEW: 1,709

SAMPLE RANGE ACROSS STUDIES: 44–336

KEY SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS: Women with mostly nonmetastatic breast cancer, during and after treatment, stage 0–4; mean age ranged from 46.1–58.0 years

PHASE OF CARE: Multiple phases of care

Small short-term benefit for MBSR or MBCT on health-related quality of life compared to usual care (p = 0.020); the same was found for fatigue (p < 0.00), sleep (p = 0.001), and depression (p < 0.001). Sleep was assessed with the MOS-Ss and the PSQI as well as the sleep subscale of the MDASI. Anxiety outcomes were not included in the meta-analysis.

This was a well-conducted systematic review that identified preliminary evidence that MBSR and MBCT are safe and show short-term effectiveness for quality of life, fatigue, sleep, stress, anxiety, and depression in women with breast cancer. Clinical relevance remains unclear, and future studies should include longer follow-up and more active control conditions.

MBSR and MBCT show promise for symptom management in women with breast cancer, but more evidence is needed prior to widespread implementation.