Positive Health Online

Abstract

LEKANDER and colleagues, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden write that psychological intervention strategies, such as relaxation training have been used to strengthen resistance to disease . Research has demonstrated that relaxation can modify immune parameters in healthy people and in chemotherapy naive cancer patients.

Background

Methodology

22 women receiving chemotherapy for ovarian cancer were assigned to relaxation training with a clinical psychologist or a control groups. Following 2 months relaxation training, blood was sampled 2 days prior to chemotherapy in the womens homes and in the hospital prior to treatment.

Results

On average, compared to the control group, the relaxation group showed higher lymphocyte counts and a tendency to higher white blood cells numbers. No significant effects were discovered in proliferative responses to mitogen and natural killer cell activity following relaxation training. Relaxation training did not affect the magnitude of changes in immune variables between home and hospital samples in anticipation of chemotherapy treatment.

Conclusion

These results suggest that relaxation training can positively modify immune parameters in cancer patients, even if training is carried out during myelosuppressive therapy.

References

Lekander M et al. Immune effecs of relaxation during chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Psychother Psychosom 66(4): 185-91. 1997.