New clinical guidelines on integrative, mind-body therapies for patients with breast cancer finds that meditation has the best evidence supporting its use and is recommended for reducing anxiety, treating symptoms of depression, and improving quality of life.

The investigators evaluated more than 80 different therapies and developed grades of evidence to determine which integrative treatments are most effective and safe for such patients.

Interdisciplinary experts from Columbia Universitys Mailman School of Public Health and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center; the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; University of Michigan; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and other institutions in the U.S. and Canada collaborated to update the guidelines from the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO).

This systematic review adds to the growing literature on integrative therapies for patients with breast cancer and other cancer populations. The latest results are published online and in print inCA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, a publication of the American Cancer Society.

The new guidelines include the following recommendations:

Studies show that up to 80 percent of people with a history of cancer use one or more complementary and integrative therapies, but until recently, evidence supporting the use of many of these therapies had been limited, said Heather Greenlee, N.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at the Mailman school and past president of SIO.

Our goal is to provide clinicians and patients with practical information and tools to make informed decisions on whether and how to use a specific integrative therapy for a specific clinical application during and after breast cancer treatment, Greenlee said.

In their systematic evaluation of peer-reviewed randomized clinical trials, the researchers assigned letter grades to therapies based on the strength of evidence. A letter grade of A indicates that a specific therapy is recommended for a particular clinical indication, and there is high certainty of substantial benefit for the patient.

Meditation had the strongest evidence supporting its use.Music therapy, yoga, and massage received a B grade for symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as for providing benefits to breast cancer patients.

Yoga received a B grade for improving quality of life based on two recent trials. Yoga and hypnosis received a C for fatigue.

The routine use of yoga, meditation, relaxation techniques, and passive music therapy to address common mental health concerns among patients with breast cancer is supported by high levels of evidence, said Debu Tripathy, M.D., chair of breast oncology at MD Anderson and also a past president of SIO.

Given the indication of benefit coupled with the relatively low level of risk, these therapies can be offered as a routine part of patient care, especially when symptoms are not well controlled.

Acupressure and acupuncture received a B grade as an addition to drugs used for reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. In general, there was a lack of strong evidence supporting the use of ingested dietary supplements and botanical natural products as part of supportive cancer care and to manage treatment-related side effects.

Clinicians and patients need to be cautious about using therapies that received a grade of C or D and fully understand the potential risks of not using a conventional therapy that may effectively treat cancer or help manage side effects associated with cancer treatment, warned Lynda Balneaves, R.N., Ph.D., associate professor at theRady Faculty of Health Sciences in Winnipeg, Canada, and president-elect of SIO.

Patients are using many forms of integrative therapies with little or no supporting evidence and that remain understudied, noted Greenlee.This paper serves as a call for further research to support patients and health care providers in making more informed decisions that achieve meaningful clinical results and avoid harm.

Source: Columbia Mailman School of Public Health/EurekAlert

APA Reference Nauert PhD, R. (2017). New Guidelines Find Meditation Best Adjunct to Breast Cancer Treatment. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 25, 2017, from https://psychcentral.com/news/2017/04/25/new-guidelines-find-meditation-best-adjunct-to-breast-cancer-treatment/119616.html

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