Applying music as a supplemental treatment in cancer care

Theoretical background Applying music as a supplemental therapeutic method is a flexible, patient-directed and adaptable, non-invasive treatment. Several forms of musical interventions are able to reduce distress, chronic pain, anxiety and depression. Aim The purpose of this review was drawing attention to the possibility of applying music as a supplementary, supportive treatment for cancer patients. The article would like to give a broader view of different fields of applying music in cancer treatment. Methods A search was made in Journal of Music Therapy, Music Therapy and Music Therapy Perspectives. Besides PubMed and Web of Knowledge were used for searching relevant articles reported in English and containing the expressions “music” and “cancer” or “music” and “psychooncology”, or “music” and “oncology”, or “music “ and “tumor”, or “music” and “tumour” in their titles. The searching process was closed in 2013. The articles were filtered by relevant content regarding the application of music in cancer treatment. The articles were considered as relevant 1) if they were focusing on any application of music in cancer treatment and 2) if they reported about original research results, so the reviews were filtered out of our selection. 61 articles were found of which 25 were considered as relevant for the review. The analysis of data was based on the following criteria: a) the aim of applying music with cancer patients, b) the applied method and period of intervention, c) number of participants and d) results. Results There is a significant improvement in quality of life of cancer patients receiving music as a supportive treatment. Both active and receptive forms of music therapy can be applied successfully either independently or with other therapies as a part of the supportive care. Conclusion Music applied by qualified music therapists in therapeutic circumstances can be suggested as a supportive treatment for cancer patients