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Randomised controlled trials of yoga interventions for women with breast cancer: a systematic literature review

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 12:57 authored by Helena HarderHelena Harder, L Parlour, Valerie JenkinsValerie Jenkins
PURPOSE: Yoga is increasingly used as a complementary therapy to manage disease and treatment-related side effects in patients with cancer and has resulted in an increase in the number of studies exploring the effectiveness of yoga interventions. This systematic review examines whether yoga interventions provide any measurable benefit, both physically and psychologically, for women with breast cancer. The results will inform future research in this field and advance the development of yoga programmes. METHODS: We performed electronic searches of MEDLINE, PsychINFO, the Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, AMED, Web of Science and Scopus for articles published up to June 2012. Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included and methodological quality rating scores were determined using the PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database) Scale. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-two studies were identified through a systematic search of eight electronic databases. Only published manuscripts that employed a RCT design were included (n = 18). The sample sizes for these studies varied widely from 18 to 164 participants and the associated PEDro scores ranged from 1 (poor) to 8 (good). All 18 studies reported positive effects for treatment-related side effects in favour of the yoga interventions, with the greatest impact on global quality of life (QoL) scores and emotional well-being. CONCLUSION: Results from the few RCTs suggest there is moderate to good evidence that yoga may be a useful practice for women recovering from breast cancer treatments. Large-scale RCTs using objective measures and patient-reported outcomes with long-term follow-up are needed to substantiate whether the benefits are true and sustainable.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Supportive Care in Cancer

ISSN

1433-7339 (Electronic) 0941-4355 (Linking)

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Issue

12

Volume

20

Page range

3055-64

Department affiliated with

  • Sussex Health Outcomes Research & Education in Cancer (SHORE-C) Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-11-09

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