# Massage therapy in cancer care

Source: https://onco.cc/technologies/massage-therapy-cancer/  
OnCo record `massage-therapy-cancer` (Technology). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Gentle massage by a trained oncology massage therapist gives short-term relief of pain, anxiety and mood in people with advanced cancer, shown in a randomised trial of 380 patients. It is safe when pressure is adapted around tumours, bone metastases, ports and low platelet counts.

## Summary

In a multicentre randomised trial of 380 people with advanced cancer and moderate to severe pain (Kutner et al., Annals of Internal Medicine 2008), six 30-minute massage sessions over two weeks produced immediate improvements in pain and mood that exceeded simple touch, but sustained benefits over the two weeks did not differ between arms. Smaller trials in breast cancer and during chemotherapy report reduced anxiety, nausea and fatigue. The 2022 SIO-ASCO pain guideline says massage may be offered for pain in palliative and hospice settings and, with lower certainty, for pain after breast surgery, and the SIO breast guideline lists it for mood. Precautions are practical: light pressure, avoidance of tumour sites, fresh surgical wounds, irradiated skin, deep vein thrombosis and thrombocytopenia.

## Fields

- Kind: Technology
- Status: established
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: complementary; supportive-care; evidence:moderate
- Principle: Mechanical stimulation of skin and muscle reduces sympathetic tone, releases oxytocin and endorphins and provides attentive human contact; benefits are largely immediate.
- Strengths: Large randomised trial in advanced cancer; Immediate relief of pain and anxiety; Listed in SIO-ASCO 2022 pain guidance
- Limitations: Benefits short-lived; Requires oncology-trained therapists; Contraindications around bone metastases and low platelets

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massage
- Massage therapy versus simple touch to improve pain and mood in advanced cancer, randomised trial (Ann Intern Med 2008): https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-149-6-200809160-00003
- SIO-ASCO guideline: integrative medicine for pain management in oncology (JCO 2022): https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.22.01357

## Connected records

- fronts: [Supportive Care & Survivorship](https://onco.cc/fronts/supportive-care/)
- technologies: [Aromatherapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/aromatherapy-cancer/), [Cancer pain management](https://onco.cc/technologies/pain-management/), [Early integrated palliative care](https://onco.cc/technologies/palliative-care/), [Evidence-based integrative oncology](https://onco.cc/technologies/integrative-oncology/), [Reflexology](https://onco.cc/technologies/reflexology-cancer/)
- terms: [Quality of life](https://onco.cc/terms/quality-of-life/)
- bottlenecks: [Pain relief and palliative care are unavailable to most](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-palliative/), [Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/)
- key papers: [Integrative Medicine for Pain Management in Oncology: Society for Integrative Oncology-ASCO Guideline](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-mao-j-clin-oncol/), [Massage therapy versus simple touch to improve pain and mood in patients with advanced cancer: a randomized trial](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-kutner-ann-intern-med/)

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