Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Virtual Reality, and Extended Reality Applications in Personalized Oncology and Patient-Centered Cancer Care: A Narrative Review.
Abstract
Background
Extended reality (XR) technologies, including augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR), are an appealing technology in clinical oncology. This narrative review evaluates the current evidence of XR applications throughout the cancer care continuum in terms of the clinical implementation, patient outcome, and the relevance of the practice to practicing clinical oncologists.
Methods
A literature search on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library (January 2015-December 2025) was conducted at the right time to select the articles related to AR, VR, MR, XR, and cancer/oncology. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical implementation studies were given priority.
Results
VR contains the strongest evidence base in which 15 RCTs meta-analysis (n = 864) found large reductions in the level of anxiety related to chemotherapy (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -1.40) among adult patients with cancer and fatigue (SMD = -3.85). Cancer-related pain (SMD = -0.86, 95% CI: -1.89 to -0.85, p < 0.001) affected significantly VR interventions as well when implemented in 28 RCTs. In hepatic, glioma, and gastrointestinal tumor resection, AR-guided surgical navigation has been clinically workable, and prospective research has indicated that it is capable of better tumor localization. Depression (SMD = -1.86, p < 0.001) was also reduced. The 3D holographic visualization with the help of MR enables the treatment planning of the multidisciplinary type.
Conclusions
The XR technologies possess immense potential in the field of personalized oncology. The sphere of VR-based supportive care intervention is clinically prepared, and still the uses of AR and MR in surgical oncology require confirmation of multicenter trials. Standardization of the protocols, cost-effectiveness studies and its integration into the clinical processes are yet to remain on the list of the top priorities.