Mindfulness and its efficacy for psychological and biological responses in women with breast cancer

Many breast cancer survivors have to deal with a variety of psychological andphysiological sequelae including impaired immune responses. The primary purposeof this randomized controlled trial was to determine the efficacy of amindfulness-basedstress reduction (MBSR) intervention for mood disorders inwomen with breast cancer. Secondary outcomes were symptom experience, healthstatus, coping capacity, mindfulness, posttraumatic growth, and immune status.This RTC assigned 166 women with breast cancer to one of three groups: MBSR(8 weekly group sessions of MBSR), active controls (self-instructingMBSR) andnon-MBSR.The primary outcome measure was the Hospital Anxiety and DepressionScale. Secondary outcome measures were: Memorial Symptom AssessmentScale, SF-36,Sense of Coherence, Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire,and Posttraumatic Growth Index. Blood samples were analyzed using flow cytometryfor NK-cellactivity (FANKIA) and lymphocyte phenotyping; concentrationsof cytokines were determined in sera using commercial high sensitivityIL-6and IL-8ELISA (enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assay) kits. Results provideevidence for beneficial effects of MBSR on psychological and biological responses.Women in the MBSR group experienced significant improvements in depressionscores, with a mean pre-MBSRHAD-scoreof 4.3 and post-MBSRscore of 3.3(P = 0.001), and compared to non-MBSR(P = 0.015). Significant improvementson scores for distress, symptom burden, and mental health were also observed.Furthermore, MBSR facilitated coping capacity as well as mindfulness and posttraumaticgrowth. Significant benefits in immune response within the MBSRgroup and between groups were observed. MBSR have potential for alleviatingdepression, symptom experience, and for enhancing coping capacity, mindfulnessand posttraumatic growth, which may improve breast cancer survivorship.MBSR also led to beneficial effect on immune function; the clinical implicationsof this finding merit further research