Mindfulness and Tai Chi for Sleep, Fatigue, and Pain in Distressed People After Cancer Treatment: A Partially Randomized Patient-Preference Comparative Effectiveness Trial.
Yan Ma, Linda E Carlson, Jennifer M Jones et al.
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In 30 seconds
The MATCH partially randomized, patient-preference comparative effectiveness trial evaluated mindfulness-based cancer recovery (MBCR) and Tai Chi/Qigong (TCQ) for sleep, fatigue, and pain in distressed cancer survivors. Participants could select an intervention or opt for random assignment, followed by assignment to immediate intervention or waitlist. Among 587 participants with multiple cancer types and stages, both interventions improved fatigue and pain interference versus waitlist at postintervention; TCQ also improved sleep quality, with a 1.9-point average improvement versus waitlist (P = .004 after adjustment). The interventions did not differ from one another.
Key findings
- Compared with waitlist, TCQ improved sleep quality by an average of 1.9 points; the adjusted comparison remained significant (P = .004).
- Fatigue improved versus waitlist with mean improvements of 3.66 points for MBCR (P = .036) and 3.42 points for TCQ (P = .043).
- Both MBCR and TCQ improved pain interference by over 1 point versus waitlist (MBCR: P = .029; TCQ: P = .002).
- MBCR and TCQ did not differ from one another, and participant preference status did not affect outcomes.
Why it matters
Sleep problems, fatigue, and pain commonly occur together after cancer treatment. These findings suggest that structured mind-body interventions may address more than one of these symptoms, with both approaches associated with improvements in fatigue and pain interference and TCQ also improving sleep. The observed correlations among symptom changes support considering symptom clusters rather than evaluating each outcome in isolation.
What to keep in mind
Outcomes were assessed at postintervention; the abstract does not report longer-term effects.