Mind-Body Therapies for Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in People with Cancer: A Systematic Review with Network Meta-Analysis

Intro Mind-body therapies (MBTs) are promising forms of treatment for depression and anxiety symptoms in people with cancer, however, their effectiveness has not been compared. The objective of this study is to rank the effectiveness of MBTs for depression and anxiety symptoms in people with cancer. Methods EMBase, PubMed, Cinahl, PsychINFO, IndMED, CSI-NISCAIR, CNKI, Clinicaltrial.gov, ChiCTR, and CTRI were searched until February 2025 for randomised controlled studies in which MBTs were tested in a cancer population. Network meta-analyses were used on the selected studies to rank the reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms compared with usual care. Results A total of 182 studies which involved 16,835 participants were included. The network meta-analysis showed a statistically significant large effect compared with usual care for biofeedback (standardised mean difference, SMD = -1.18, p = 0.038), spiritual interventions (SMD = -0.98, p = 0.047), and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs; SMD = -0.87, p < 0.001) for depression symptoms and yoga (SMD = -1.13, p < 0.001), MBIs (SMD = -1.02, p < 0.001), physical relaxation (SMD = -0.93, p < 0.001), qigong/Tai Chi (QTC; SMD = -0.90, p = 0.004) and music therapy (SMD = -0.90, p < 0.001) for anxiety symptoms. Conclusions The MBTs that should be prioritised are biofeedback, spiritual interventions, and MBIs for depression symptoms and yoga, MBIs, physical relaxation, QTC, and music therapy for anxiety symptoms in people with cancer.