ReviewSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2020
The power of touch: external applications from whole medical systems in the care of cancer patients (literature review).
Review in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Touching body, soul, and spirit? Understanding external applications from integrative medicine: A mixed methods systematic review.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Interprofessional Team-Based Whole-Course Enteral Nutrition in the Peri-Radiation Therapy Period for Esophageal Cancer.Clinical journal of oncology nursing · 2025Trial
- Integrative medicine during the intensive phase of chemotherapy in pediatric oncology in Germany: a randomized controlled trial with 5-year follow up.BMC cancer · 2022Trial
- Reflexology and meditative practices for symptom management among people with cancer: Results from a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial.Research in nursing & health · 2021Trial
- External application of liver compresses to reduce fatigue in patients with metastatic cancer undergoing radiation therapy, a randomized clinical trial.Radiation oncology (London, England) · 2021Trial
- Randomized Pilot Trial Using External Yarrow Liver Compress Applications With Metastatic Cancer Patients Suffering From Fatigue: Evaluation of Sympathetic Modulation by Heart Rate Variability Analysis.Integrative cancer therapiesTrial
- Implementing integrative nursing for oncology inpatients: a retrospective analysis of project-related routine data from 2021 to 2023.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Implementation of Integrative Nursing for Patients With Cancer Receiving Inpatient Care: Protocol for a Convergent Parallel Mixed Methods Evaluation.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Effects of love glove application on vital signs for COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit.Nursing open · 2024Article
- Exploring the gap: attitudes, knowledge, and training needs in complementary and integrative medicine among healthcare professionals at German university hospitals.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Translation and Expression of Professional Terms of Public Emergencies in External Reports.Journal of environmental and public health · 2022Article
- Therapeutic Alliance as Active Inference: The Role of Therapeutic Touch and Biobehavioural Synchrony in Musculoskeletal Care.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposeIn the context of whole medical systems (WMSs), external applications are manual treatments that stem from complementary medicine and are performed by practitioners, nurses and caregivers through the application of interpersonal touch. These applications work via physiological, psychological and social processes and are intended for holistic healing. In integrative oncology, these applications are used to improve patients' wellbeing. The purpose of the review is to collect and compare research results concerning external applications from WMSs applied to patients with cancer.
methodsWe conducted a literature review to explore the effects of external applications on patients undergoing cancer treatment. Inclusion criteria were external applications from Anthroposophic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic Medicine, examined detached from the effect interdependencies of their respective WMSs.
resultsSearches identified 111 publications. Final inclusions were four Shiatsu studies (from TCM), supplemented by two case reports exploring anthroposophic external applications. The literature review suggests that external applications may improve patients' wellbeing during cancer treatment and are associated with physical and psychological effects that potentially enhance supportive cancer care. The number and quality of published studies in the field is limited.
conclusionsFuture empirical investigations should assess the effectiveness and underlying effects in patients with cancer, adhere to a patient-tailored approach, and investigate the systemic complexity of touch-based applications from WMSs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.