Music reduces cancer patients' anxiety

Cancer patients may benefit from sessions with trained music therapists or from listening to music. A new Cochrane systematic review shows using music can reduce anxiety in cancer patients, and may also have positive effects on mood, pain, and quality of life (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2011, Issue 8, Art. No. CD006911).

Music and music therapy are used in a wide range of clinical settings, noted the study authors from Drexel University. Treatments range from patients listening to prerecorded music, to music therapists engaging patients in music experiences, to improve psychological and physical well-being. In the review, researchers focused on trials with patients with any kind of cancer who were offered music or music therapy sessions.

The researchers analyzed evidence from 1,891 patients taking part in 30 trials. Thirteen trials used trained music therapists, while patients in the remaining 17 trials listened to prerecorded music. How long and how often patients participated in music sessions varied greatly among trials, the authors noted.

They found that when compared with standard treatments, music reduced anxiety considerably based on clinical anxiety scores. Some trials reported much larger beneficial effects than others.

The results also suggest that music therapy may increase patients' quality of life and that there was some benefit in music for mood and pain, although not depression, the researchers noted. Smaller beneficial effects were seen for heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure.

"The evidence suggests that music interventions may be useful as a complementary treatment to people with cancer," said lead researcher Joke Bradt, PhD, an associate professor in the department of creative arts therapies at Drexel University. "Music interventions provided by trained music therapists as well as listening to prerecorded music both have shown positive outcomes in this review, but at this time there is not enough evidence to determine if one intervention is more effective than the other."