SynthesisSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2022
Effects of music intervention on anxiety, depression, and quality of life of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 3 of them syntheses 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
27 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effect of Music-Based Interventions on Maternal and Fetal Parameters during Pregnancy: A Systematic Review.Complementary medicine research · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of music-based interventions on cancer-related pain, fatigue, and distress: an overview of systematic reviews.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Pooled it
- Music therapy effect on anxiety reduction among patients with cancer: A meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Randomised controlled trial of music listening combined with progressive muscle relaxation for mood management in women receiving chemotherapy for cancer.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Trial
- The effects of aromatherapy and music on pain, anxiety, and stress levels in palliative care patients.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Trial
- The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Training on Cognitive, Social, and Physical Functioning in High-Functioning Older Adults (CoSoPhy FX): 2-Arm, Parallel-Group Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2024Trial
- The effect of two different types of music played to cancer patients during chemotherapy on anxiety, nausea, and satisfaction levels.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Reporting guidelines for music-based interventions checklist: Explanation and elaboration guide.Integrative medicine research · 2025Article
- Reporting guidelines for music-based interventions: An update and validation study.Integrative medicine research · 2025Article
- Virtual Reality and Sound Intervention under Chemotherapy (ViSu): study protocol for a three-arm randomised-controlled trial.BMJ open · 2025Article
- The impact of group music therapy on anxiety, stress, and wellbeing levels, and chemotherapy-induced side effects for oncology patients and their caregivers during chemotherapy: a retrospective cohort study.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2025Article
- Associations between cancer-related coping and depressive symptoms in oral cancer patients.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- The Role and Effect of Music Therapy in Combination Therapy for Cancer Management.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Five-element music therapy based on emotion classification to improve sleep in patients with cancer-related depression: a multi-group randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Effect of group music therapy on state-anxiety and well-being levels of oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy: a multi-center randomized clinical trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Reporting Guidelines for Music-based Intervention: an update and validation study.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Reporting Guidelines for Music-based Interventions checklist: explanation and elaboration guide.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
- Does Music Intervention Improve Anxiety in Dementia Patients? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Music Therapy: A Noninvasive Treatment to Reduce Anxiety and Pain of Colorectal Cancer Patients-A Systemic Literature Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Review
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMusic may be a safe and effective coping strategy for psychological management. The objectives of this review were to identify the effects of music interventions on anxiety, depression, and quality of life (QoL) among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.
methodsFourteen databases were searched from the inception date to December 2020 to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Gray literature was also examined. The protocol of this systematic review was registered with PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42021223845). Two reviewers independently assessed eligibility, extracted data, and evaluated methodological quality. Meta-analysis was done. Subgroup analysis was conducted for intervention types, the person selecting music, music delivery method, timing, and session duration.
resultsNine RCTs were identified, among which six were eligible for the meta-analysis. All studies were at a high risk of bias, and the overall quality of evidence was low to very low. The pooled results reveal that music intervention could reduce anxiety (SMD: - 0.29, 95% CI - 0.50 to - 0.08) and improve QoL (SMD: 0.42, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.82). However, it fails to affect depression (p = 0.79). The findings demonstrate no significant difference between patient-selected music and researcher-selected music, recorded music, and live music, while a length of 15-20 min/session and offering immediately before chemotherapy are more effective on anxiety than that of 30-45 min and delivering during chemotherapy.
conclusionsMusic intervention may be a beneficial tool for anxiety reduction and QoL among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. More high-quality RCTs are needed to ascertain the true impact of those outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
35129666What 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.