The effectiveness of art-based interventions for cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of art-based interventions on anxiety, depression, fatigue, and overall quality of life (QoL), including its physical, psychological, and social dimensions in cancer patients. Methods: The literature search included all studies published up to March 2024. Searches were conducted in the MEDLINE, Web of Science, EBSCO, and PubMed databases considering the updated Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Revised Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool (RoB 2) and the Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) developed by the Cochrane Collaboration. Data were analysed using the MAJOR package in JAMOVI 2.3.28. Results: Fifteen studies conducted with 1113 cancer patients were identified and included in this study. Ten of the studies included women with breast cancer. The remaining studies involved chemotherapy patients with various cancers (n = 3), cancer patients in a blood and marrow transplantation unit (n = 1), and nasopharyngeal cancer patients (n = 1). Meta-analysis indicated that art-based interventions had a significant effect on anxiety, depression and physical aspects of QoL but no significant impact on fatigue, overall QoL, or the psychological and social dimensions of QoL. Conclusions: This study provided clinical support for pursuing art-based research on anxiety, depression, and the physical QoL in cancer patients. However, the effect of art-based interventions on cancer patients' fatigue and their overall QoL, including its social and psychological dimensions, was insignificant. Registration: The study protocol was registered in advance in the PROSPERO (CRD42024531397/April 13, 2024).