Department of Integrative Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China.
Cancer. 2013 May 1;119(9):1690-8. doi: 10.1002/cncr.27904. Epub 2013 Jan 25.
Radiotherapy may lead to side effects that undermine patients' quality of life (QOL). Although mind-body practices like qigong appear to improve QOL in cancer survivors, little is known about their benefits for patients who are receiving radiotherapy. Thus, in the current randomized controlled trial, the authors examined the efficacy of a qigong intervention on QOL in women with breast cancer during and after treatment.
Ninety-six women with breast cancer were recruited from a cancer center in Shanghai, China, and were randomized to a qigong group (N = 49) or a waitlist control group (N = 47). Women in the qigong group attended 5 weekly classes over 5 or 6 weeks of radiotherapy. QOL outcomes (ie, depressive symptoms, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and overall QOL) and cortisol slopes were assessed at baseline, during treatment, at the end of treatment, 1 month later, and 3 months later.
The mean age of the women was 46 years (range, 25-64 years). Seven percent of women had stage 0 disease, 25% had stage I disease, 40% had stage II disease, and 28% had stage III disease. Fifty-four percent of women underwent mastectomy. Multilevel analyses revealed that women in the qigong group reported less depressive symptoms over time than women in the control group (P = .05). Women who had elevated depressive symptoms at the start of radiotherapy reported less fatigue (P < .01) and better overall QOL (P < .05) in the qigong group compared with the control group, and these findings were clinically significant. No significant differences were observed for sleep disturbance or cortisol slopes.
The current results indicated that qigong may have therapeutic effects in the management of QOL among women who are receiving radiotherapy for breast cancer. Benefits were particularly evident for patients who had preintervention elevated levels of depressive symptoms.
放射治疗可能会导致副作用，从而降低患者的生活质量（QOL）。虽然气功等身心练习似乎可以提高癌症幸存者的 QOL，但对于接受放射治疗的患者，其益处知之甚少。因此，在当前的随机对照试验中，作者研究了气功干预对接受放射治疗的乳腺癌女性在治疗期间和治疗后的生活质量的影响。
从中国上海的一家癌症中心招募了 96 名乳腺癌女性，并将她们随机分为气功组（N=49）或候补对照组（N=47）。气功组的女性在放射治疗的 5 至 6 周内每周参加 5 次课程。在基线、治疗期间、治疗结束时、1 个月后和 3 个月后评估生活质量结果（即抑郁症状、疲劳、睡眠障碍和整体生活质量）和皮质醇斜率。
女性的平均年龄为 46 岁（范围 25-64 岁）。7%的女性患有 0 期疾病，25%患有 1 期疾病，40%患有 2 期疾病，28%患有 3 期疾病。54%的女性接受了乳房切除术。多层次分析显示，与对照组相比，气功组女性随时间推移抑郁症状减少（P=0.05）。在放射治疗开始时抑郁症状升高的女性在气功组中报告的疲劳程度较低（P<.01），整体生活质量较好（P<.05），这些发现具有临床意义。睡眠障碍或皮质醇斜率无显著差异。
目前的结果表明，气功可能对接受乳腺癌放射治疗的女性的生活质量管理具有治疗作用。对于干预前抑郁症状升高的患者，益处尤为明显。
