Effects of an Interdisciplinary Integrative Oncology Group-Based Program to Strengthen Resilience and Improve Quality of Life in Cancer Patients: Results of a Prospective Longitudinal Single-Center Study

Abstract

Background: Patients with cancer receiving oncological treatment often suffer from a reduced quality of life (QoL) and resilience. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an interdisciplinary integrative oncology group-based program on resilience and quality of life in patients with cancer during or after conventional oncological therapy. Methods: This prospective longitudinal single-center study evaluated the resilience (Resilience Scale), quality of life (EORTC-QLQ C30), anxiety, depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and distress levels (Distress Thermometer) of 60 patients with cancer who participated in a 10-week interdisciplinary integrative oncology group-based program during or after cancer treatment in outpatient clinics. An average of 12 (range 11-13) patients participated in each 10-week group. The program included recommendations for diet, stress management, relaxation, and exercise, as well as naturopathic self-help strategies and psychosocial support. Results: There were slight increases in global quality of life scores (week 0: 58.05 ± 20.05 vs week 10: 63.13 ± 18.51, n = 59, P = .063, d = −.25) and resilience scores (week 0: 63.50 ± 13.14 vs week 10: 66.15 ± 10.17, n = 52, P = .222, d = −.17) after the group program compared to before; however, these changes were not statistically significant and had small effect sizes. Patients with at least moderate anxiety symptoms ( P = .022, d = .42) and low resilience ( P = .006, d = −.54) benefited most from the program. The patients reported no relevant side effects or adverse events from the program. Conclusions: No significant effects on global quality of life or resilience were found in the general sample; notably, patients with anxiety and low initial resilience benefited the most from the program.

Mind–body-medicine in oncology—from patient needs to tailored programs and interventions: a cross-sectional study

“… Oppegaard et al (2021) could demonstrate impressively that anxiety profiles are associated with stress, resilience and symptom severity in outpatients receiving chemotherapy. A recent study examining the effects of a group-based integrative oncology program to build resilience and improve quality of life in cancer patients revealed that patients with anxiety and low initial resilience benefited most ( Savaş et al, 2022 ). Regarding relaxation methods, breathing exercises play an important role as they are easy to learn and available ubiquitously.…”

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“…Comparison to other integrative programs that assessed QoL among cancer survivors and particularly breast cancer survivors is difficult due to the different structure of the program components, the program duration and follow-up and the scales used for assessing the change in QoL. Three other integrative programs comprising similar elements have used the same QoL scales [36][37][38]. Two of the programs [36,37] comprised weekly meetings for 5-6 hours in a single day per week and lasted for 10-11 weeks.…”

“…Three other integrative programs comprising similar elements have used the same QoL scales [36][37][38]. Two of the programs [36,37] comprised weekly meetings for 5-6 hours in a single day per week and lasted for 10-11 weeks. While one of these programs [36] showed significant improvements in all QoL domains after 11 weeks, the other program [37] did not find significant effects on global QoL or resilience after 10 weeks, but patients with anxiety and low initial resilience benefited the most from the program.…”

“…Two of the programs [36,37] comprised weekly meetings for 5-6 hours in a single day per week and lasted for 10-11 weeks. While one of these programs [36] showed significant improvements in all QoL domains after 11 weeks, the other program [37] did not find significant effects on global QoL or resilience after 10 weeks, but patients with anxiety and low initial resilience benefited the most from the program. The third program, The Women's Wellness after Cancer Program [38], which uses an e-health platform, reported statistically significant improvements in general health, bodily pain, vitality, and global physical and mental health scores; however, improvements across several QoL domains, albeit to a lesser magnitude, were also noted in the control group, which comprised cancer survivors treated with usual care, though the magnitude of change was less.…”