Integrating Music Listening into Exercise for Female Breast Cancer Survivors: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among women. The disease and its treatments often lead to physical and psychosocial impairments, compromising quality of life. While exercise and music-based interventions have individually demonstrated benefits on these symptoms, the advantages of their combination remain unexplored. This study evaluates whether a concurrent exercise program, including aerobic and strength training performed while listening to music based on individual preferences, is more effective than the same exercise program without music in improving self-esteem, body image, cancer-related fatigue, physical function (upper and lower limb strength and cardiorespiratory endurance), quality of life, sleep quality, and intolerance of uncertainty in female breast cancer survivors. A single-blind, two-arm, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial will be conducted including 42 women who completed primary treatment for stage 0–III breast cancer at least six months before enrollment. Participants will be randomly assigned to a music-listening concurrent exercise training group (MLTG), or a no music exercise training group (NMLTG), both performing the same 8-week exercise program. The primary outcome will be self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale). Secondary outcomes include body image, fatigue, upper and lower limb strength, cardiovascular endurance, quality of life, sleep quality, and intolerance of uncertainty. Measurements will be collected using validated and reliable questionnaires and standardized functional tests at baseline, post-intervention, and at 6 months. Data will be analyzed under the intention-to-treat principle. Music listening, particularly when based on individual preferences and synchronized with movement, may enhance mood and exercise performance while modulating reward-related neural pathways. This trial will provide new evidence on a feasible and low-cost strategy to enhance supportive care and physical and psychosocial outcomes in breast cancer survivors. ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT07045961). Ethics Committee code: 2025-0855.