The potential of complementary music interventions in patients with head and neck cancer

The established treatment regimen for patients suffering from cancer in the head and neck region often leads to physical and mental health problems and therefore can significantly reduce the quality of life (QoL) in these patients. The available data indicate that additional complementary treatments, such as music interventions, may improve patients’ QoL and compliance and reduce symptoms during therapy.

Anonymous data collection using a self-designed questionnaire was conducted in patients suffering from cancer in the head and neck area in our outpatient department. The questionnaire particularly asked the patients about their need and interest in music interventions during therapy.

In total, 138 patients were consecutively enrolled in the study. The mean age was 64.9 years, including 68.1% men and 31.9% women. Of the included patients, 89.2% were in the non-metastatic stage. Only 11.5% listened to music regularly during their therapy at the time of data collection, yet 52.2% stated that they would be interested in music interventions. We found that patients especially conceived the relaxing and encouraging effects from listening to music. Most patients said they would prefer group therapies (56%) or listening to their own music (36.6%).

Our data suggest that there is a need for music interventions in patients suffering from cancer in the head and neck, as they anticipate they would experience positive effects, including reduced somatic and non-somatic symptoms and improved QoL. The lack of homogenous data emphasizes the need for further trials in the field of complementary music interventions to establish science-based concepts in cancer treatment centers in the future.

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Artikel online veröffentlicht:
24. Mai 2022