The effect of music therapy and music medicine on quality of life in cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aims To investigate the impact of music therapy and music medicine on the quality of life of cancer patients. Methods We searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and DergiPark databases up to July 2026. Screening was performed according to the population, intervention, comparison, outcome and study design (PICOS) framework. Results A general screening process yielded 387 literature records. After full-text screening according to the predefined eligibility criteria, 10 studies were synthesized. The Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB) tool was employed to assess the risk of bias. The overall pooled results revealed statistically significant improvements in patients’ quality of life (QoL) following music therapy and music medicine interventions. Specifically, a 1.60-point increase was observed on the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment–BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) (p = 0.02), a 12.85-point increase on the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) (p = 0.0003), a 5.37-point increase on the Hospice Quality of Life Index–Revised (HQOLI-R) in the trial by Liao et al. (p = 0.02), a 36.70-point increase on the HQOLI-R in the trial by Hilliard (p < 0.00001), a 16.91-point increase on the Quality of Life–Cancer (QOL-CA) scale (p = 0.0001), and a 4.80-point increase on the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQOL) (p < 0.00001). An analysis of the relevant outcomes from four studies that used the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–General (FACT-G) indicated a 2.82-point increase, which was not statistically significant (p = 0.12). Statistically significant improvements were therefore not observed across all quality-of-life instruments, particularly the FACT-G. The overall pooled analysis demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in quality of life (standardised mean difference [SMD] = 5.85; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.46–8.24; Z = 4.81; p < 0.00001). Conclusions The available evidence suggests that music-based interventions may improve the quality of life of patients with cancer. However, given the relatively small number of included studies and the heterogeneity in intervention characteristics and outcome measures, these findings should be interpreted with caution. Further high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings and determine the optimal implementation of music-based interventions in oncology care.