Objectives: After medical treatment, cancer survivors often have physical and psychological symptoms that lower their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Japanese Anma massage therapy (AMT) might help improve these situations; thus, we conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and report the results and an illustrative case.
Sample and setting: Gynecologic cancer survivors, in a massage clinic division.
Procedures: In the RCT, 40 gynecologic cancer survivors were randomized to an AMT group that received 7 weekly 40-min AMT sessions and a no-AMT group. Changes in outcomes after an 8-week period were compared between the groups. The primary endpoint was severity of subjective physical symptoms assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondary endpoints were HRQoL measured using the EORTC-QLQ-C30 and Profile of Mood States (POMS).
Results: In the primary analysis, the difference in the estimated least-squares means between the groups was -22.2 (95% CI, -34.4 to -10.1, p = 0.0007). For the secondary endpoints, significant improvements were seen in QLQ-C30 Global Health Status/QoL scores, fatigue and insomnia scores, and POMS scores for anger-hostility.
Care report: A 62-year-old woman had undergone surgery for clear cell carcinoma of the ovary, followed by 6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. Due to peripheral neuropathy, pain and numbness appeared in the lower extremities and she became unable to wear shoes. After starting weekly 30-min AMT sessions, VAS scores for pain and numbness and the range of the affected area gradually decreased, and she could start wearing shoes made of soft materials. A nerve conduction study revealed that evoked action potentials had recovered and that nerve conduction velocities had improved. At follow-up after 3 years of AMT, recovery to within the normal range was observed in some areas on vibratory sense examination.
Conclusion and clinical implications: Continuing AMT improved various symptoms and HRQoL in gynecologic cancer survivors.