DENVER (EGMN) Playing a musical instrument, singing, or simply listening to music recordings all resulted in significant reductions in anxiety scores in oncology patients, according to a Cochrane Database systematic review and Meta-analysis. And researchers from the Department of Creative Arts at Drexel University in Philadelphia found that a variety of music interventions provided by medical staff or trained music therapists also significantly improved secondary endpoints such as pain, mood, and quality of life scores. Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Wendy Anderson, PhD, of the University of California, noted that previous studies on music interventions for oncology patients have been very small, and that Meta-analyses of smaller studies that are more similar and can be combined can produce stronger, more definitive conclusions. A total of 30 randomized clinical trials conducted in seven countries were included in this report, including 1,891 participants of all ages and all tumor types. Overall, 13 trials had interventions delivered by trained music therapists, and interventions in the other 17 studies included listening to pre-recorded music of the patient’s choice in a variety of genres. The typical duration of each session was 30-45 min. the number of sessions varied widely across studies. Subjects in the control group received conventional treatment, and in some studies, control subjects listened to white noise through headphones. A total of 16 randomized trials assessed anxiety levels. Overall results showed that music interventions achieved clinically meaningful and statistically significant reductions in anxiety scores, with moderate to large effects. For example, the mean score on the State Trait Anxiety Scale was reduced by 11.2 units after various music interventions, while there was no change in the control group. Similarly, reductions in pain scores and improvements in structured mood and quality of life in the music intervention group compared to the control group were in the medium to large magnitude range. “For patients with tumors, these are very important prognostic indicators,” said Dr. Anderson. Music therapy is a clearly specialized form of treatment. Trained music therapists can perform a detailed assessment of the patient and provide a customized music experience. Although previous researchers have attempted to understand whether more complex and active music interventions provided by trained music therapists could produce a more substantial improvement in psychosomatic prognosis than simpler music listening interventions provided by medical staff, the research database was not large enough to draw any relevant conclusions. The researchers concluded that music interventions may improve anxiety and reduce pain and improve quality of life in oncology patients.