Breast cancer survivors benefit from yoga

A new US study finds that yoga can benefit breast cancer survivors by reducing fatigue and inflammation. While yoga has many components, the researchers believe breathing and meditation probably had the biggest impact.

At the end of 12 weeks of yoga classes, a group of women who had completed breast cancer treatment, including surgery and radiotherapy, showed an average reduction in fatigue of 57% and up to 20% reduction in inflammation, compared with a similar group that had not received yoga instruction.

The researchers also found the more yoga the women practiced, the better the results.

They report the findings of the randomized controlled trial in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Study leader Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, a professor of psychiatry and psychology at The Ohio State University in Columbus, says the study shows how several months of modest yoga practice can benefit breast cancer survivors substantially. She also thinks the results could apply to other people who have problems with fatigue and inflammation.

Largest known trial of yoga in cancer survivors using biological measures

Many studies have shown that yoga can benefit cancer patients. For instance, in 2010, another group from the US reported how 4 weeks of yoga reduced fatigue and improved sleep quality in cancer survivors who also reported taking less sleep medication and improved quality of life.

However, the researchers behind this new study believe it is the largest known randomized controlled trial of the effect of yoga on cancer survivors that includes biological measures. They decided to concentrate on breast cancer survivors because the treatment they undergo is very rigorous and taxing, as Prof. Kiecolt-Glaser explains:

"One of the problems they face is a real reduction in cardiorespiratory fitness. The treatment is so debilitating and they are so tired, and the less you do physically, the less you're able to do. It's a downward spiral."

For the study, the researchers recruited 200 women who had undergone treatment for breast cancer and randomly assigned them to either the intervention group or a control group.

The participants were aged from 27 to 76 and had completed their surgery or radiotherapy between 2 months and 3 years before taking part in the trial: none had done yoga before they took part in the study.

Trial designed so results apply to other cancer survivors

They deliberately recruited a mix of participants with a wide age range, with cancer at various stages (from 0 to 3A), and who underwent a range of treatments, so they could generalize the results to a broad population of cancer survivors.