Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23368724›Full record

Trial reportJournal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)2013

Massage therapy for patients with metastatic cancer: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Maria Toth, Edward R Marcantonio, Roger B Davis, Tracy Walton, Janet R Kahn, Russell S Phillips

Registry-linked trialOpen access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00253708 (Body-Based Complementary Therapies for Patients With Cancer), which is not on this map. Cited by 23 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
15.4field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT00253708 nacompletednot on this map

Body-Based Complementary Therapies for Patients With Cancer

TypeinterventionalSponsorBeth Israel Deaconess Medical CenterRan2004 to 2013Enrolled39ConditionsCancerArmsmanagement of therapy complications, massage therapy, pain therapy, psychosocial assessment and care, quality-of-life assessment
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 63 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Pooled it
  10. Trial
  11. The effect of hand massage on fatigue in women with cancer receiving brachytherapy: randomized clinical trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024
    Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Review
  14. A Resilience Framework for Research in Oncology Massage Therapy.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2025
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Experiences of Caring Through Providing Touch Near End-of-Life.International journal for human caring · 2021
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Maria TothHarvard Medical School Center for Primary Care, Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Edward R Marcantonio
Roger B Davis
Tracy Walton
Janet R Kahn
Russell S Phillips
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center · USAbt Associates (Nepal) · NPIntegral Consulting (United States) · US

Funding

Mid-Career Mentoring Award for Patient-Oriented Research in AgingK24AG035075 · NIA · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI MARCANTONIO, EDWARD R · 2010 to 2021
$1.9M
Research and Mentorship in Alternative MedicineK24AT000589 · NCCIH · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI PHILLIPS, RUSSELL SCOTT · 2001 to 2010
$1.5M
Massage for Hospitalized Patients with Metastatic CancerR21CA098487 · NCI · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI PHILLIPS, RUSSELL SCOTT · 2004 to 2005
$457k
NCCIH NIH HHS 5 K24 AT00589NCI NIH HHS 5 R21 CA098487NIA NIH HHS K24 AG035075
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThe study objectives were to determine the feasibility and effects of providing therapeutic massage at home for patients with metastatic cancer.

designThis was a randomized controlled trial. SETTINGS/LOCATION: Patients were enrolled at Oncology Clinics at a large urban academic medical center; massage therapy was provided in patients' homes. SUBJECTS: Subjects were patients with metastatic cancer.

interventionsThere were three interventions: massage therapy, no-touch intervention, and usual care. OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcomes were pain, anxiety, and alertness; secondary outcomes were quality of life and sleep.

resultsIn this study, it was possible to provide interventions for all patients at home by professional massage therapists. The mean number of massage therapy sessions per patient was 2.8. A significant improvement was found in the quality of life of the patients who received massage therapy after 1-week follow-up, which was not observed in either the No Touch control or the Usual Care control groups, but the difference was not sustained at 1 month. There were trends toward improvement in pain and sleep of the patients after therapeutic massage but not in patients in the control groups. There were no serious adverse events related to the interventions.

conclusionsThe study results showed that it is feasible to provide therapeutic massage at home for patients with advanced cancer, and to randomize patients to a no-touch intervention. Providing therapeutic massage improves the quality of life at the end of life for patients and may be associated with further beneficial effects, such as improvement in pain and sleep quality. Larger randomized controlled trials are needed to substantiate these findings.

Indexed as

MassageAdultAgedBostonFeasibility StudiesFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHome Care ServicesHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm MetastasisPain MeasurementQuality of LifeSleep

Identifiers

PMID23368724
PMCPMC3700435
OpenAlexW2017462154

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.