Yoga Improves Breast Cancer Patients' Health

Women Enjoy Better Physical, Social Functioning

Breast cancer patients who practiced yoga during the period in which they were receiving radiation therapy reported significantly improved quality of life compared to patients who did not practice yoga during treatment, according to new study results.

No difference was found, however, in levels of depression or anxiety, says Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D., associate professor and director of M. D. Anderson's Integrative Medicine Program.

"The main objective of this study was to examine the feasibility of integrating a daily yoga program into the treatment care plan for women with breast cancer undergoing radiation treatment. We wanted to determine if the patients found it useful and enjoyable, as well as assess aspects of their quality of life," Cohen says.

General health improved by yoga

The study results were presented in June at the 42nd annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The trial involved 61 women with breast cancer.

Those who practiced yoga said they experienced:

• Increased physical functioning
• Better general health
• Improved social functioning
• Lower levels of sleep-related problems
• Lower levels of fatigue overall

Women divided into yoga or non-yoga group

The clinical trial is the first collaborative research effort representing the partnership between M. D. Anderson and India's largest yoga research institution, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (research foundation) in Bangalore, India.

In the study, patients were divided into two groups:

Yoga group- Women in this group participated in yoga classes twice weekly around the time of their radiation treatments.

Control group- Women in this group were offered yoga after radiation treatment ended.

The patients ranged from Stage 0 to 3 disease and:

• 48% had undergone breast-conserving surgery
• 75% had received chemotherapy before radiation

Designed specifically for this patient population, the yoga program emphasized breathing and relaxation, and excluded some positions that would be difficult given the patients' possible weakened range of motion, Cohen says.

More study data will be reported at a later date, Cohen adds. His team plans to analyze the cortisol levels (a stress hormone collected from saliva samples) and immune function measured from blood samples that were both collected as part of the study.