A Meta-Analysis of Domestic and International Studies on the Effects of Meditation Programs for Cancer Patients: Focusing on Depression, Anxiety, Pain, and Quality of Life
Abstract
This meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects of meditation-based interventions on psychological and physical outcomes in cancer patients. A total of 25 studies were included after a systematic literature search. Random-effects models were used to calculate pooled effect sizes (Hedges’ g), and meta-regression analyses were conducted to explore the moderating effects of the number of sessions, session duration, and cancer type (breast versus non-breast cancer). The results showed that meditation interventions were significantly associated with a moderate reduction in negative outcomes overall (Hedges’ g = –0.424, 95% CI [–0.613, –0.235], p < .001). Significant effects were observed for depression (g = –0.399, p = .001) and anxiety (g = –0.436, p = .001), whereas the effect on pain was not statistically significant (g = 0.104, p = .363). Quality of life showed a significant small-to-moderate improvement (g = 0.337, p = .029). Meta-regression analyses revealed that the number of sessions significantly moderated the effect on anxiety (β = 0.033, p = .024), indicating that studies with more sessions tended to show smaller anxiety reduction effects as the number of sessions increased, and marginally moderated the effect on quality of life (β = 0.081, p = .055), suggesting a potential cumulative benefit of additional sessions. In addition, cancer type was a significant moderator of the effect on pain, with non-breast cancer patients showing greater improvements than breast cancer patients. However, the moderator variables did not fully explain the between-study heterogeneity. In conclusion, this meta-analysis provides integrated evidence that meditation interventions are significantly associated with reduced depression and anxiety and improved quality of life among cancer patients. The findings also suggest that intervention effects may vary depending on the number of sessions and cancer type. These results offer practical implications for the design of meditation programs tailored to cancer patients.