{"entity":{"id":"mindfulness-based-interventions","kind":"technology","name":"Mindfulness-based stress reduction and cognitive therapy","aka":[],"tldr":"Structured eight-week mindfulness courses reduce anxiety and low mood during and after cancer treatment, with dozens of randomised trials behind them. Guidelines from ASCO and the Society for Integrative Oncology recommend them as a first option alongside, not instead of, psychological care.","summary":"Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) are manualised eight-week group programmes of meditation, body awareness and gentle movement. Meta-analyses of randomised trials in people with cancer show moderate reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms, fear of recurrence and fatigue, sustained for months. The 2023 SIO-ASCO guideline on anxiety and depression recommends mindfulness-based interventions for adults with cancer, during and after treatment, the strongest recommendation in that guideline. Online and app-based versions have randomised support and widen access. Mindfulness does not treat major depression on its own and is not a reason to withhold antidepressants or psychotherapy when they are indicated.","status":"established","asOf":"2026-09-10","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness-based_stress_reduction","links":[{"label":"SIO-ASCO guideline: integrative oncology care of anxiety and depression (JCO 2023)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.23.00857"},{"label":"Mindfulness-based interventions for psychological and physical health outcomes in cancer: meta-analysis (Psycho-Oncology 2019)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5214"}],"tags":["complementary","supportive-care","evidence:strong"],"related":["idea-moon-integrative-oncology-bridge"],"cancers":[],"sections":["supportive-care","rejuvenation"],"technologies":["psycho-oncology","integrative-oncology","sleep-circadian-interventions","cancer-related-fatigue-management"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["outperform-cancer"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["quality-of-life"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-toxicity-qol","b-survivorship"],"keyPapers":["paper-carlson-j-clin-oncol","paper-cillessen-psychooncology"],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"principle":"Training attention on present-moment experience reduces rumination and threat reactivity, with measurable changes in stress physiology (cortisol, inflammatory markers) whose clinical importance is uncertain.","strengths":["Many randomised trials and meta-analyses","Top recommendation in the SIO-ASCO 2023 guideline","Group and digital formats are scalable"],"limitations":["Requires eight weeks of practice","Not a treatment for severe depression","Trials mostly in breast cancer and Western populations"]},"route":"/technologies/mindfulness-based-interventions/","neighbours":{"idea":[{"id":"idea-moon-integrative-oncology-bridge","kind":"idea","name":"Evidence-based integrative oncology in every cancer centre to meet demand safely","route":"/ideas/idea-moon-integrative-oncology-bridge/"}],"section":[{"id":"rejuvenation","kind":"section","name":"Recovery & Rejuvenation","route":"/fronts/rejuvenation/"},{"id":"supportive-care","kind":"section","name":"Supportive Care & Survivorship","route":"/fronts/supportive-care/"}],"technology":[{"id":"rejuv-mind-anxiety-after-cancer","kind":"technology","name":"Anxiety after cancer, in survivors and in their partners","route":"/technologies/rejuv-mind-anxiety-after-cancer/"},{"id":"rejuv-mind-depression-after-cancer","kind":"technology","name":"Depression during and after cancer: the interview-based prevalence, and the care model that works","route":"/technologies/rejuv-mind-depression-after-cancer/"},{"id":"integrative-oncology","kind":"technology","name":"Evidence-based integrative oncology","route":"/technologies/integrative-oncology/"},{"id":"cancer-related-fatigue-management","kind":"technology","name":"Fatigue after cancer treatment: what actually works","route":"/technologies/cancer-related-fatigue-management/"},{"id":"rejuv-mind-access-to-psychological-care","kind":"technology","name":"Getting psychological help after cancer: the stepped-care model, and what is actually commissioned","route":"/technologies/rejuv-mind-access-to-psychological-care/"},{"id":"menopause-after-cancer-treatment","kind":"technology","name":"Menopause brought on by cancer treatment, and the options for it","route":"/technologies/menopause-after-cancer-treatment/"},{"id":"rejuv-mind-post-traumatic-growth","kind":"technology","name":"Post-traumatic growth: what people report, and what the measurement actually captures","route":"/technologies/rejuv-mind-post-traumatic-growth/"},{"id":"psycho-oncology","kind":"technology","name":"Psycho-oncology and distress screening","route":"/technologies/psycho-oncology/"},{"id":"rejuv-mind-sleep-after-cancer","kind":"technology","name":"Sleep after cancer: how common insomnia is, how long it lasts, and the treatment that works","route":"/technologies/rejuv-mind-sleep-after-cancer/"},{"id":"sleep-circadian-interventions","kind":"technology","name":"Sleep and circadian interventions in cancer","route":"/technologies/sleep-circadian-interventions/"},{"id":"cognitive-impairment-after-cancer-treatment","kind":"technology","name":"Thinking and memory after cancer treatment: what is measurable, and what helps","route":"/technologies/cognitive-impairment-after-cancer-treatment/"},{"id":"rejuv-mind-fear-of-recurrence-treatment","kind":"technology","name":"Treating fear of recurrence: the randomised trials, their effect sizes, and where the treatment is available","route":"/technologies/rejuv-mind-fear-of-recurrence-treatment/"}],"company":[{"id":"outperform-cancer","kind":"company","name":"Outperform Cancer","route":"/companies/outperform-cancer/"}],"term":[{"id":"quality-of-life","kind":"term","name":"Quality of life","route":"/terms/quality-of-life/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-survivorship","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Survivorship and late effects are neglected","route":"/bottlenecks/b-survivorship/"},{"id":"b-toxicity-qol","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Toxicity and quality of life are undervalued","route":"/bottlenecks/b-toxicity-qol/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-carlson-j-clin-oncol","kind":"paper","name":"Integrative Oncology Care of Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Adults With Cancer: Society for Integrative Oncology-ASCO Guideline","route":"/key-papers/paper-carlson-j-clin-oncol/"},{"id":"paper-cillessen-psychooncology","kind":"paper","name":"Mindfulness-based interventions for psychological and physical health outcomes in cancer patients and survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials","route":"/key-papers/paper-cillessen-psychooncology/"}]}}