ArticleIntegrative cancer therapies
Therapeutic Singing as a Swallowing Intervention in Head and Neck Cancer Patients With Dysphagia.
Article in Integrative cancer therapies. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Music-based interventions for nonfluent aphasia: A systematic review of randomized control trials.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Evidence-based guideline diagnosis, treatment, prevention and aftercare of oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma.German medical science : GMS e-journal · 2025Guideline
- Head and Neck Muscle Activity in Post-Stroke Dysphagia Patients: Muscle Dynamics and Implications for Rehabilitation.Journal of oral rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Voice Meets Swallowing: A Scoping Review of Therapeutic Connections.American journal of speech-language pathology · 2025Article
- Therapeutic singing-induced swallowing exercise for dysphagia in advanced-stage Parkinson's disease.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Article
- A scoping review of music-based interventions for swallowing difficulties: implications for treating older adults with presbyphagia.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHead and neck cancer patients often suffer from dysphagia after surgery and radiotherapy. A singing-enhanced swallowing protocol was established to improve their swallowing function. This study aimed to evaluate the beneficial effects of therapeutic singing on dysphagia in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients.
methodsPatients who participated in this study were allocated to the intervention group (15 patients) and the control group (13 patients). Patients assigned to the intervention group received therapeutic singing 3 times per week for 4 weeks. Each group was divided into 2 subgroups, including the oral cavity cancer group and the pharyngeal cancer group. The patients' vocal functions were evaluated in maximum phonation time, pitch, intensity, jitter, shimmer, harmonics to noise ratio, and laryngeal diadochokinesis (L-DDK). To evaluate swallowing function, videofluoroscopic swallowing study was done, and the results were analyzed by videofluoroscopic dysphagia scale (VDS) and dynamic imaging grade of swallowing toxicity (DIGEST).
resultsAmong the voice parameters, L-DDK of the intervention group significantly increased compared to that of the control group. Swallowing functions of the intervention group were significantly improved in VDS and DIGEST after the intervention. Detailed items of VDS and DIGEST showed improvements especially in the pharyngeal phase score of VDS, such as laryngeal elevation, pharyngeal transit time, and aspiration. In addition, the pharyngeal cancer group showed significant improvements in VDS and DIGEST scores after the intervention.
conclusionsOur outcomes highlight the beneficial effects of singing for HNC patients with dysphagia. The notable improvements in the pharyngeal phase suggest that therapeutic singing would be more appropriate for HNC patients who need to improve their intrinsic muscle movements of vocal fold and laryngeal elevation.
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