ArticleBehavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)2022
Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback in Cancer Patients: A Scoping Review.
Article in Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Mapping Psychosocial Determinants for Cancer Onset: An Umbrella Review.Psycho-oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Training Can Improve Menopausal Symptoms and Psychological Well-Being in Women with a Diagnosis of Primary Breast Cancer: A Longitudinal Randomized Controlled Trial.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Trial
- Article
- Cancer Neoaxonogenesis: Mechanisms and Factors Involved in the Recruitment of Peripheral Nerves by Cancer Tissue.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Pulse wave analysis for quality-of-life associated early physiological changes during breast cancer chemotherapy: a proof-of-concept pilot study.The oncologist · 2026Observational
- Rethinking Pain Assessment: Subjective Scales, Biomarkers, and Multimodal Integration.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation in breast cancer: a neuroimmune model to improve quality of life.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- The Efficacy of a Wearable Device-based Vital Sign Monitoring System in a Japanese Home Medical Care Clinic.Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) · 2025Article
- Biofeedback in Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Care: A Systematic Review.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Effects of complete home-based biofeedback therapy on insomnia disorders in patients with cancer.Frontiers in sleep · 2025Article
- A proposed multi-domain, digital model for capturing functional status and health-related quality of life in oncology.Clinical and translational science · 2024Review
- The Application of tDCS to Treat Pain and Psychocognitive Symptoms in Cancer Patients: A Scoping Review.Neural plasticity · 2024Article
- Exploring protocol development: Implementing systematic contextual memory to enhance real-time fMRI neurofeedback.Journal of electrical bioimpedance · 2024Article
- Development and Validation of Cloud-based Heart Rate Variability Monitor.Journal of medical physicsArticle
- Stress, inflammation, and resilience among patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma undergoing multimodal therapy: Current knowledge and future directions.Tzu chi medical journalReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Biofeedback (BFB) has been shown to improve autonomic balance and wellbeing in chronic diseases. As cardiac variability represents an index of cognitive and emotional regulation, HRV-BFB has been shown to lead to improvements in physiological and psychological adaptability and quality of life. However, knowledge of HRV-BFB in cancer patients is lacking, and available results are diversified according to methods and outcomes. The present paper undertakes a scoping review, exploring the use of HRV-BFB to modulate autonomic balance, cancer symptom management, and quality of life in cancer. This scoping review analyzes empirical evidence considering study designs, BFB methods, and psychophysiological outcomes. Research that focused on HRV-BFB effects in cancer patients was selected (79%). In addition, a systematic review and meta-analysis (31%) focusing on HRV, or BFB in chronic conditions, including cancer, were considered. The studies examined BFB treatment for thyroid, lung, brain or colon cancer, hematologic cancer, and survivors or terminal cancer patients. Retrieved studies reported physiological and psychological indices as primary outcomes: they included HRV values, sleep, pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and quality of life. Although the heterogeneity of publications makes it difficult to generalize the effectiveness of HRV-BFB, the training has been proven to improve cancer symptoms and well-being.
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Registered trials
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