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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.
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.
Mechanical stimulation of skin and muscle reduces sympathetic tone, releases oxytocin and endorphins and provides attentive human contact; benefits are largely immediate.
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One technology page on OnCo cites this paper by its DOI; this record gives the citation a page of its own so a reader can follow it without leaving OnCo. Read the abstract above alongside the citing page listed under Related; the record was created automatically from the Europe PMC entry and its figures have not been checked by hand.
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