|
| |
 |
|
| LETTERS TO EDITOR |
|
| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 4
| Issue : 1 | Page : 146 |
|
Is yoga effective in mitigating cancer-related fatigue?
Chidiebere Emmanuel Okechukwu
Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro, Rome, Italy
| Date of Submission | 29-Dec-2020 |
| Date of Decision | 06-Jan-2021 |
| Date of Acceptance | 13-Jan-2021 |
| Date of Web Publication | 26-Mar-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
Chidiebere Emmanuel Okechukwu
Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome
Italy
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/crst.crst_373_20
How to cite this article:
Okechukwu CE. Is yoga effective in mitigating cancer-related fatigue?. Cancer Res Stat Treat 2021;4:146 |
Yoga can not only significantly mitigate physical fatigue but also minimize cognitive fatigue in patients with breast cancer.[1] A supervised yoga routine significantly decreased the fatigue in patients with breast cancer; specifically, an 8-week yoga intervention of duration of 60–90 min/week had a significant effect on cancer-related fatigue (CRF).[1] Yoga consists of postural control, concentration, leisure, relaxation, meditation, and deep breathing, making it suitable for deconditioned patients with cancer and cancer survivors.[2] A supervised yoga program led to significant improvement in the vigor and decreased CRF among breast cancer survivors with incessant fatigue symptoms.[3]
Sadja and Mills suggest that yoga programs could be helpful for decreasing CRF in women with breast cancer.[4] Lin et al. investigated the potential of yoga to improve CRF and examined whether sleep improvement facilitated the impact of yoga on CRF in 410 cancer survivors. At the end of the trial, they observed that the participants in the yoga program had significantly decreased CRF compared to those who received the standard survivorship care post-therapeutic intervention. Moreover, the improved overall sleep quality resulting from participating in yoga significantly facilitated the effect of yoga on CRF.[5]
In conclusion, yoga can be deemed as a complementary treatment to reduce fatigue in patients with cancer and cancer survivors. However, the intensity, type, duration, and frequency of yoga therapy that is effective in mitigating CRF needs to be validated. Furthermore, well-designed randomized controlled trials are required to define and substantiate the efficacy of yoga therapy in mitigating CRF in patients with cancer and cancer survivors.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Dong B, Xie C, Jing X, Lin L, Tian L. Yoga has a solid effect on cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer: A meta-analysis. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2019;177:5-16.  |
| 2. | Baydoun M, Barton DL, Peterson M, Wallner LP, Visovatti MA, Arslanian-Engoren C, et al. Yoga for cancer-related fatigue in survivors of hematopoietic cell transplantation: A feasibility study. J Pain Symptom Manage 2020;59:702-8. |
| 3. | Bower JE, Garet D, Sternlieb B, Ganz PA, Irwin MR, Olmstead R, et al. Yoga for persistent fatigue in breast cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial. Cancer 2012;118:3766-75. |
| 4. | Sadja J, Mills PJ. Effects of yoga interventions on fatigue in cancer patients and survivors: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Explore (NY) 2013;9:232-43. |
| 5. | Lin PJ, Kleckner IR, Loh KP, Inglis JE, Peppone LJ, Janelsins MC, et al. Influence of Yoga on cancer-related fatigue and on mediational relationships between changes in sleep and cancer-related fatigue: A nationwide, multicenter randomized controlled trial of yoga in cancer survivors. Integr Cancer Ther 2019;18:1534735419855134. |
|
