CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 668Music Therapy and HealthCancer survivorship and careArt Therapy and Mental Health

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 114 of the 119 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Music interventions for improving psychological and physical outcomes in cancer patients

Bradt, Joke, Dileo, Cheryl, Magill, Lucanne, Teague, Aaron·2016·Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
DOI 10.1002/14651858.cd006911.pub3
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Having cancer may result in extensive emotional, physical and social suffering. Music interventions have been used to alleviate symptoms and treatment side effects in cancer patients. OBJECTIVES: To assess and compare the effects of music therapy and music medicine interventions for psychological and physical outcomes in people with cancer. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the 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. We searched all databases, except for the last two, from their inception to January 2016; the other two are no longer functional, so we searched them until their termination date. We handsearched music therapy journals, reviewed reference lists and contacted experts. There was no language restriction. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included all randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials of music interventions for improving psychological and physical outcomes in adult and pediatric patients with cancer. We excluded participants undergoing biopsy and aspiration for diagnostic purposes. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias. Where possible, we presented results in meta-analyses using mean differences and standardized mean differences. We used post-test scores. In cases of significant baseline difference, we used change scores. MAIN RESULTS: We identified 22 new trials for inclusion in this update. In total, the evidence of this review rests on 52 trials with a total of 3731 participants. We included music therapy interventions offered by trained music therapists, as well as music medicine interventions, which are defined as listening to pre-recorded music, offered by medical staff. We categorized 23 trials as music therapy trials and 29 as music medicine trials.The results suggest that music interventions may have a beneficial effect on anxiety in people with cancer, with a reported average anxiety reduction of 8.54 units (95% confidence interval (CI) -12.04 to -5.05, P < 0.0001) on the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory - State Anxiety (STAI-S) scale (range 20 to 80) and -0.71 standardized units (13 studies, 1028 participants; 95% CI -0.98 to -0.43, P < 0.00001; low quality evidence) on other anxiety scales, a moderate to strong effect. Results also suggested a moderately strong, positive impact on depression (7 studies, 723 participants; standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.40, 95% CI -0.74 to -0.06, P = 0.02; very low quality evidence), but because of the very low quality of the evidence for this outcome, this result needs to be interpreted with caution. We found no support for an effect of music interventions on mood or distress.Music interventions may lead to small reductions in heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure but do not appear to impact oxygen saturation level. We found a large pain-reducing effect (7 studies, 528 participants; SMD: -0.91, 95% CI -1.46 to -0.36, P = 0.001, low quality evidence). In addition, music interventions had a small to moderate treatment effect on fatigue (6 studies, 253 participants; SMD: -0.38, 95% CI -0.72 to -0.04, P = 0.03; low quality evidence), but we did not find strong evidence for improvement in physical functioning.The results suggest a large effect of music interventions on patients' quality of life (QoL), but the results were highly inconsistent across studies, and the pooled effect size for the music medicine and music therapy studies was accompanied by a large confidence interval (SMD: 0.98, 95% CI -0.36 to 2.33, P = 0.15, low quality evidence). A comparison between music therapy and music medicine interventions suggests a moderate effect of music therapy interventions for patients' quality of life (QoL) (3 studies, 132 participants; SMD: 0.42, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.78, P = 0.02; very low quality evidence), but we found no evidence of an effect for music medicine interventions. A comparison between music therapy and music medicine studies was also possible for anxiety, depression and mood, but we found no difference between the two types of interventions for these outcomes.The results of single studies suggest that music listening may reduce the need for anesthetics and analgesics as well as decrease recovery time and duration of hospitalization, but more research is needed for these outcomes.We could not draw any conclusions regarding the effect of music interventions on immunologic functioning, coping, resilience or communication outcomes because either we could not pool the results of the studies that included these outcomes or we could only identify one trial. For spiritual well-being, we found no evidence of an effect in adolescents or young adults

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1002/14651858.cd006911.pub3

Cites

114 of 114 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Citations

Cites

2 retracted

Flagged first, then by citations

5 of the 119 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 59

  1. Beck, 1989, The Effect of Therapeutic Use of Music on Cancer Related Pain [PhD thesis]
  2. Binns-Turner, 2008, Perioperative Music and its Effects on Anxiety, Hemodynamics, and Pain in Women Undergoing Mastectomy [PhD thesis]
  3. Cai, 2001, Music therapy in treatment of cancer patients, Zhongguo Xinli Weisheng Zazhi [Chinese Mental Health Journal], 15, 179-81. Chinese
  4. Chen, 2004, Effect of cognitive behavioral intervention therapy on immunological function of patients with breast cancer, Chinese Journal of Clinical Rehabilitation, 8, 6310
  5. Ferrer, 2005, The Effect of Live music on Decreasing Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy Treatment [MSc/MA thesis]
  6. Fredenburg, 2013, Effects of Cognitive-behavioral Music Therapy on Fatigue with Patients on a Blood and Marrow Transplantation Unit: A Convergent Parallel Mixed Methods Effectiveness Study [MA Thesis]
  7. Gimeno, 2008, The Effect of Music and Imagery to Induce Relaxation and Reduce Nausea and Emesis in Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy Treatment [PhD thesis]
  8. Harper, 2001, Reducing Treatment-related Anxiety in Cancer Patients: Comparison of Psychological Interventions [PhD thesis]
  9. Hilliard, 2002, The Effects of Music Therapy on Quality of Life and Length of Life of Hospice Patients Diagnosed with Terminal Cancer [PhD thesis]
  10. Huang, 2006, The Effects of Music on Cancer Pain [PhD thesis]
  11. Jin, 2011, Influence of music relaxation therapy on vital signs and anxiety of liver cancer patients accepting transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization, Huli Yanjiu [Chinese Nursing Research], 16, 1429
  12. Li, 2004, Applying Chinese classical music to treat preoperative anxiety of patients with gastric cancer, Huli Yanjiu [Chinese Nursing Research], 18, 471
  13. Pinto Junior, 2012, Influence of music on pain and anxiety due to surgery in patients with breast cancer, Revista Brasileira de Cancerologia, 58, 135
  14. Stordahl, 2009, The Influence of Music on Depression, Affect, and Benefit Finding Among Women at the Completion of Treatment for Breast Cancer [PhD thesis]
  15. Straw, 1991, The Use of Guided Imagery and Relaxation for the Quality of Life of Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy [Master's thesis]
  16. Wan, 2009, Influence of music therapy on anxiety, depression and pain of cancer patients, Huli Yanjiu [Chinese Nursing Research], 23, 1172-5. Chinese
  17. Xie, 2001, Effect of music therapy and inner image relaxation on quality of life in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, Zhongguo Xinli Weisheng Zazhi [Chinese Mental Health Journal], 15, 176
  18. Akombo, 2006, Effects of Listening to Music as an Intervention for Pain and Anxiety in Bone Marrow Transplant Patients [PhD thesis]
  19. Allen, 2010, The Effectiveness of Group Music and Imagery on Improving the Self-concept of Breast Cancer Survivors [PhD thesis]
  20. Augé, 2015, The effect of music therapy on mood and quality of life in female breast cancer survivors, Psicooncología, 12, 105
  21. Augé, 2015, The effect of music therapy on mood and quality of life in colorectal cancer patients, Psicooncología, 12, 259
  22. Burke, 1997, Effects of physioacoustic intervention on pain management of postoperative gynaecological patients
  23. Cermak, 2005, The Effect of Music Therapy and Songwriting on Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life in Cancer Patients and their Family as Measured by Self-report [Master's thesis]
  24. Chi, 2009, Music Relaxation Video and Pain Control: A Randomised Controlled Trial for Women Receiving Intracavitary Brachytherapy for Gynecological Cancer [PhD thesis]
  25. Cuenot, 1994, Effects of Brief Adjunctive Music Therapy on Chronic Cancer Pain Intensity [PhD thesis]
  26. Dvorak, 2015, Music therapy support groups for cancer patients and caregivers: A mixed methods approach, Canadian Journal of Music Therapy, 21, 69
  27. Flaugher, 2002, The Intervention of Music on Perceptions of Chronic Pain, Depression, and Anxiety in Ambulatory Individuals with Cancer [PhD thesis]
  28. Furioso, 2002, The Effect of Group Music Therapy on Coping, Psychosocial Adjustment, and Quality of Life for Women with Breast Cancer [PhD thesis]
  29. Hasenbring, 1999, The efficacy of relaxation/imagery, music therapy and psychological support for pain relief and quality of life: first results from a randomised controlled clinical trial, Bone Marrow Transplantation, 23, 166
  30. Hogenmiller, 1986, The effect of selected classical music on acute pain related to bone marrow aspiration and biopsy in the cancer patient, Oncology Nursing Forum, 13, 86
  31. Huang, 2000, Effects of Music Therapy on Relieving Pain and Symptom Distress among Hospice Cancer Patients [Master's thesis]
  32. Jourt-Pineau, 2012, Music therapy in oncology: an evaluation of the effects of music therapy on pain and anxiety in hospitalized oncology patients, La Revue Francaise de Musicotherapie, 32, 4
  33. Jourt-Pineau, 2013, Effects of music therapy on pain and anxiety in treating cancer patients: a feasibility study, Douleurs, 14, 200
  34. Lee, 2000, Effects of Music Therapy on Pain Level, Physiological Response and Psychological Perception of Cancer Patients [Master's thesis]
  35. Liu, 2014, The effect of music therapy and countermeasures design during cancer therapy in China, Psycho-oncology, 23, 193
  36. Na Cholburi, 2004, Effects of music therapy on anxiety and pain in cancer patients, Thai Journal of Nursing Research, 8, 173
  37. Robinson, 2009, Music During Chemotherapy. Effects on Patients with Gynecologic Malignancies with Emphasis on Physical Symptoms and Coping: Results of a Prospective Study. [Musik während der Chemotherapie. Effekte auf Patientinnen mit Gynäkologischen Malignomen unter Bes
  38. Rose, 2008, Sound meditation in oncological rehabilitation: a pilot study of a receptive music therapy group using the monochord, Forschende Komplementarmedizin, 15, 335
  39. Schur JM Alleviating behavioral distress with music or Lamaze pant-blow breathing in children undergoing bone marrow aspirations and lumbar punctures Dissertation Abstracts International, 48(3-B)889 1987
  40. Sedei, 1980, The Effectiveness of Music Therapy on Specific Statements Verbalized by Cancer Patients [Master's thesis]
  41. Stark, 2012, Perceived Benefits of Group Music Therapy for Breast Cancer Survivors: Mood, Psychosocial Wellbeing, and Quality of Life [PhD thesis]
  42. Tan BL Sin ACF Ho SM Lee KH Poh J Chua GP Effect of music in reducing anxiety levels among patients who receive their first dose of chemotherapy treatment Singapore General Hospital Proceedings 2008 46 56
  43. Thompson, 2011, The Effect of Group Music Therapy on Anxiety, Depression, Quality of Life and Coping with Women with Stage I and Stage II Breast Bancer: a Mixed Methods study [PhD thesis]
  44. Tilch, 1999, Supportive music therapy improves mood state in patients undergoing myeloablative chemotherapy, Bone Marrow Transplantation, 23, 170
  45. Washington, 1990, The Effect of Music Therapy on Anxiety Levels of Terminally Ill Cancer Patients: A Pilot Atudy [Master's thesis]
  46. Weber, 1997, A pilot study on the influence of receptive music listening on cancer patients during chemotherapy, International Journal of Arts Medicine, 5, 27
  47. Whitney, 2013, The Effect of Music Therapy on Five-year Disease-free Survival Rates in Pediatric Neuroblastoma [Master's thesis]
  48. Yildirim, 2007, The influence of music on anxiety and the side effects of chemotherapy, Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi, 8, 37
  49. Bro, 2013, Live Music During Chemotherapy: Randomized Study of the Effect of Live Music During Chemotherapy Treatment [PhD thesis]
  50. O'Brien E The Effect of the Guided Original Lyrics and Music (GOLM) Songwriting Protocol on Cancer Patients' Mood, Distress Levels, Quality of Life, and Satisfaction with Hospital Stay [PhD thesis] Melbourne University of Melbourne
  51. Burns DS The Effect of the Bonny Methods of Guided Imagery and Music on the Quality of Life and Cortisol Levels of Cancer Patients [unpublished PhD thesis] University of Kansas
  52. Dileo, 1999, A classification model for music and medicine, 1
  53. Dileo, 2005, Medical Music Therapy: A Meta-analysis & Agenda for Future Research
  54. Dileo, 2007, Music therapy: Applications to Stress Management
  55. King, 2003, Quality of life from nursing and patient perspectives: theory, research and practice
  56. McKinney, 2002, Quantitaive research in guided imagery and music (GIM): A review, 449
  57. McNair, 1971, Manual for the Profile of Mood States
  58. Copenhagen: The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration Review Manager (RevMan) [Computer program]. Version 5.3 2014
  59. Weber, 1996, A pilot study on the influence of receptive music listening on cancer patients during chemotherapy, International Journal of Arts Medicine, 5, 27

Cited by

Sorted by citations

See all 668

Related

See all

Metadata

Authors
Bradt, J., Dileo, C., Magill, L., & Teague, A.
Affiliations
  • Drexel University (US)
  • Temple University (US)
  • Mount Sinai Hospital (US)
ORCID
Bradt, Joke
Venue
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2016-08-15
Issue
8
Pages
CD006911-CD006911
ISSN
  • 1361-6137 (ISSN-L)
  • 1465-1858
DOI
10.1002/14651858.cd006911.pub3
OpenAlex
W1534497265
Cited by
668
References
119
Citations by year
2026: 25 · 2025: 52 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 56 · 2021: 74 · 2020: 63 · 2019: 68 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 28
FWCI
8.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
new_version (2021-10-12)
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Art Therapy and Mental Health
Keywords
music therapy, music medicine, cancer patients, anxiety, depression, pain, fatigue, quality of life, psychological outcomes, physical health outcomes, childhood cancer, cancer treatment side effects, symptom management, patient-reported outcomes, sleep quality, social functioning, cancer pain, cancer-related depression
MeSH terms
Affect, Anxiety, Body Image, Depression, Fatigue, Humans, Music, Music Therapy, Neoplasms, Quality of Life, Stress, Psychological, Treatment Outcome, Standard of Care, Pain Management

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review