Mindfulness-based interventions for women with breast cancer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.
Heidemarie Haller, María M Winkler, Petra Klose, Gustav J Dobos, Sherko Kümmel, Holger Cramer
Acta oncologica December 2017 DOI: 10.1080/0284186x.2017.1342862 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Meta-analysis Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1,709 |
| Population | Women with breast cancer |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) |
| Duration | Post-intervention, up to 6 months, and up to 12 months after baseline |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy showed statistically significant but small short-term benefits over usual care for quality of life, fatigue, sleep, stress, anxiety, and depression in women with breast cancer, with some anxiety and depression effects lasting up to 6-12 months. Against active interventions, only anxiety and depression improved post-intervention. The authors report that all average effects were below thresholds for minimal clinically important differences and that adverse events were insufficiently reported, so clinical relevance remains unclear. |
Abstract
The aim of this meta-analysis was to systematically update the evidence for mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in women with breast cancer. In October 2016, PubMed, Scopus, and Central were searched for randomized controlled trials on MBSR/MBCT in breast cancer patients. The primary outcome was health-related quality of life. Secondary outcomes were fatigue, sleep stress, depression, anxiety, and safety. For each outcome, standardized mean differences (SMD/Hedges' g) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Risk of bias was assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool. The Literature search identified 14 articles on 10 studies that included 1709 participants. The overall risk of bias was unclear, except for risk of low attrition bias and low other bias. Compared to usual care, significant post-intervention effects of MBSR/MBCT were found for health-related quality of life (SMD = .21; 95%CI = [.04-.39]), fatigue (SMD = -.28; 95%CI = [-.43 to -.14]), sleep (SMD = -.23; 95%CI = [-.40 to -.05]), stress (SMD = -.33; 95%CI = [-.61 to -.05]), anxiety (SMD = -.28; 95%CI = [-.39 to -.16]), and depression (SMD = -.34; 95%CI = [-.46 to -.21]). Up to 6 months after baseline effects were significant for: anxiety (SMD = -.28; 95%CI = [-.47 to -.09]) and depression (SMD = -.26; 95%CI = [-.47 to -.04]); and significant for anxiety (SMD = -.21; 95%CI = [-.40 to -.03]) up to 12 months after baseline. Compared to other active interventions, significant effects were only found post-intervention and only for anxiety (SMD = -.45; 95%CI = [-.71 to -.18]) and depression (SMD = -.39; 95%CI = [-.65 to -.14]). However, average effects were all below the threshold of minimal clinically important differences. Effects were robust against potential methodological bias. Adverse events were insufficiently reported. This meta-analysis revealed evidence for the short-term effectiveness and safety of mindfulness-based interventions in women with breast cancer. However, their clinical relevance remains unclear. Further research is needed.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 67
- The Empirical Status of Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review of 44 Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials Perspectives on Psychological Science February 16, 2021
- Mindfulness‐based interventions for psychological and physical health outcomes in cancer patients and survivors: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials Psycho-Oncology September 11, 2019
- The Effectiveness of a Body-Affective Mindfulness Intervention for Multiple Sclerosis Patients with Depressive Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Frontiers in Psychology November 30, 2017
- Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on quality of life of breast cancer patient: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2024
- Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Depression in Patients With Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Integrative Cancer Therapies 2023
and 62 more in the library
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- Standardised Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Healthcare: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of RCTs PLoS One April 16, 2015
- Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on posttraumatic growth of Chinese breast cancer survivors. Psychology, Health & Medicine January 2017
and 14 more in the library