Efficacy of Music Therapy on Quality of Life in Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of music therapy on quality of life (QoL), anxiety, and depression in cancer patients. Methods: Nine electronic databases, encompassing six English and three Chinese databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from the date of database inception to September 1, 2024. All RCTs that involved participants aged at least 18 years with any type of cancer, who received music therapy and had QoL as an outcome measure, were screened. The revised Cochrane's risk of bias tool was applied to evaluate the risk of bias. The Review Manager software was applied to execute this meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses were performed based on the type and duration of the music therapy. Results: Fourteen RCTs involving 1104 patients were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that compared with usual care, wait list or health education, music therapy could significantly improve the QoL of cancer patients (standardized mean difference (SMD = 1.36); 95% confidence interval (CI: 0.77-1.96); p < 0.01; Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation assessment [GRADE]: moderate), with passive music therapy being superior to active-passive music therapy, can be protective against anxiety (SMD = -1.37; 95% CI:-2.29 to -0.45; p < 0.01; GRADE: moderate) and depression (SMD = -1.86; 95% CI:-3.65 to -0.08; p = 0.04; GRADE: low). Conclusion: Music therapy was effective in improving the QoL of patients with cancer, with passive music therapy being superior to active-passive music therapy. Meanwhile, anxiety and depression were relieved as well. Further studies with rigorous study designs are needed to verify our conclusions.