Resilience interventions for stress-related health outcomes in patients with cancer: Findings from a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
Chenyi Cai, Zhengyang Mei, Hansen Li et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
In 30 seconds
This systematic review synthesized randomized controlled trials of resilience interventions for stress-related health outcomes in patients with cancer. The 33 trials included 3,614 patients and reported 70 outcome measures. Significant post-intervention improvements were reported for 23 of 26 quality-of-life outcomes, 16 of 21 anxiety outcomes, 12 of 19 depression outcomes, and 3 of 4 perceived-stress outcomes. Overall, the findings suggest potential benefits, but most studies had some concerns or high risk of bias, and differences in interventions and outcome reporting prevented quantitative synthesis.
Key findings
- Quality of life improved significantly after intervention in 23 of 26 reported outcomes.
- Anxiety outcomes showed significant post-intervention reductions in 16 of 21 measures.
- Depression outcomes improved significantly in 12 of 19 measures; perceived stress decreased in 3 of 4.
- Across 33 trials and 3,614 patients, most studies had some concerns or high risk of bias.
Why it matters
Stress-related symptoms and quality of life are relevant outcomes in cancer care. The review finds a broadly favourable pattern across trials, particularly for quality of life and anxiety, while highlighting uncertainty in the evidence. The results support continued evaluation of resilience interventions, but variation in intervention content and outcome reporting makes it difficult to determine which approaches are most effective.
What to keep in mind
Most included trials had some concerns or high risk of bias. Heterogeneity in intervention content, delivery, and outcome reporting precluded quantitative synthesis.