Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34649555›Full record

Trial reportBMC palliative care2021

The effect of a single session of 30-min mindful breathing in reducing fatigue among patients with haematological cancer - a randomised controlled trial.

Diana-Leh-Ching Ng, Gin-Gin Gan, Nur Adila Anuar, Yu-Zhen Tung, Natalie-Zi Lai, Yi-Wen Tan, Siti Norazilah Mohd Said, Amalia Madihie, Chee-Shee Chai, Seng-Beng Tan

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC palliative care, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05029024 (The Effect of a Single Session of 30-Minute Mindful Breathing in Reducing Fatigue Among Patients With Haematological Cancer - A Randomised Controlled Trial), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 26% 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.

NCT05029024 nacompletednot on this map

The Effect of a Single Session of 30-Minute Mindful Breathing in Reducing Fatigue Among Patients With Haematological Cancer - A Randomised Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity Malaysia SarawakRan2019 to 2020Enrolled80ConditionsFatigue, Hematologic MalignancyArms30-minute mindful breathing, control group
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 20 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Adapting a mental health program for people with multiple myeloma and smouldering myeloma: a consumer-informed feasibility study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. 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

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Diana-Leh-Ching NgDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, University Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Gin-Gin GanDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Nur Adila AnuarDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Yu-Zhen TungDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Natalie-Zi LaiDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Yi-Wen TanDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Siti Norazilah Mohd SaidFaculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development, University Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Amalia MadihieFaculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development, University Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Chee-Shee ChaiDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, University Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Seng-Beng TanDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. pramudita_1@hotmail.com.
University of Malaya · MYUniversiti Malaysia Sarawak · MY

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients with haematological cancer had considerable symptom burden, in which fatigue was the most prevalent. Almost 70% of haematological cancer patients reported fatigue.

methodsWe conducted a parallel-group, non-blinded, randomised control trial at the haemato-oncology unit of University Malaya Medical Centre, from 1st October 2019 to 31st May 2020. Patients included were ≥ 18 years, had histopathological diagnosis of haematological cancer, and fatigue score of ≥4 based on the fatigue subscale of Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS). Patients allocated to the intervention group received standard care plus a guided 30-min mindful breathing session, while those in control group received standard care. The study outcomes include fatigue severity according to the fatigue subscale of ESAS, visual analogue scale of 0 - 10, and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Fatigue Scale Version 4, at minute 0 and minute 30.

resultsOf 197 patients screened, 80 were eligible and they were equally randomised into 30-min mindful breathing versus standard care. Lymphoma (58.9%) was the commonest haematological malignancy, followed by multiple myeloma (13.8%), acute leukaemia (11.3%), myeloproliferative neoplasm (6.3%), chronic leukaemia (5.0%) and myelodysplastic syndrome (5.0%). There was no difference in the demographic and clinical characteristics between the 2 groups. At minute 0, both arms of patients had similar ESAS-fatigue score (median, 5) and FACIT-fatigue score (mean ± SD, 24.7 ± 10.6 for intervention group versus 24.7 ± 9.7 for control group). At minute 30, intervention group had lower ESAS-fatigue score (median, 3 versus 5) and FACIT-fatigue score (mean ± SD, 17.1 ± 10.5 versus 24.8 ± 11.3) compared to control group. Both the ESAS-fatigue score reduction (median, - 2 versus 0, p = 0.002) and FACIT-fatigue score reduction (mean ± SD, - 6.7 versus + 0.8; p < 0.001) for the intervention group were statistically significant. The calculated effect size Cohen's d was 1.4 for between-group comparison of differences in total FACIT-fatigue score.

conclusionsOur results provide evidence that a single session of 30-min mindful breathing was effective in reducing fatigue in haematological cancer patients. On top of all the currently available methods, 30-min mindful breathing can prove a valuable addition.

trial registrationNCT05029024 , date of registration 15th August 2021. (Retrospectively registered).

Indexed as

Hematologic NeoplasmsMindfulnessFatigueHumansEdmonton symptom assessment systemFatigueFunctional assessment of chronic illness therapy fatigue scaleHaematological cancerMindful breathing

Identifiers

PMID34649555
PMCPMC8518151
OpenAlexW3125221224

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.