The Effects of Massage Therapy on Symptom Management among Patients with Cancer: A Systematic Review

Aims: To review the literature about the effects and benefits of massage therapy on symptom management among patients with cancer.

Methodology: Systematic literature review approach was adopted. The search was conducted in several databases including EBSCO & CINHAL, PubMed, Google Scholar and MEDLINE. The keywords included “massage therapy”, “cancer”, “chemotherapy”, “pain” and “palliative care”. Data were extracted and reviewed by the researchers independently. Data were collected included the authors' names, settings, goals of the study, type of study, methods, sample, and the main findings. Nine articles met the inclusion criteria and were included.

Results: The studies were conducted in different regions of the world. The sample size ranged from 24 to 711 participants. Four of the nine studies used a randomized controlled design. Massage therapy found to reduce the severity of several symptoms among cancer patients and improve patients’ wellbeing.

Conclusion: Based on the results of this review, it can be concluded that the use of massage therapy, as a non-pharmacological intervention, has benefits for patients with cancer. Massage therapy appeared to be effective in symptom management of pain, anxiety, fatigue, nausea and vomiting in cancer patients. No adverse effects of massage therapy have been reported.