An Updated Systematic Review of Qigong for Women with Breast Cancer

June 28, 2021 - Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine performed a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of Qigong in improving the quality of life and relieving fatigue, sleep disturbance, and cancer-related emotional disturbances (distress, depression, and anxiety) in women with breast cancer.

This review consisted of 17 trials, in which 1,236 cases were enrolled. The quality of the included trials was generally low, as only five of them were rated high quality. The results showed significant effectiveness of Qigong on quality of life. Depression and anxiety were also significantly relieved in the Qigong group. There was no significant benefit on fatigue or sleep disturbance relief compared to that observed in the control group.

This review, reported by the journal Complementary therapies in medicine, shows that Qigong is beneficial for improving quality of life and relieving depression and anxiety; thus, Qigong should be encouraged in women with breast cancer.