Creative arts therapies may ease distress in cancer, but evidence is uncertain
A review of randomized trials found improvements in anxiety, depression, and quality of life at some follow-up periods. Evidence certainty was low to very low.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Creative arts therapies may help with anxiety, depression, and quality of life for people with cancer, but the evidence is uncertain. Pooled results favored therapy at selected assessment periods, and most interventions involved music. These findings leave uncertainty about how large or dependable the benefits would be for an individual patient.
This abstract-based summary cannot explain which control activities were used or why evidence certainty was rated low to very low. The review concerns people with a current cancer diagnosis.
What researchers found
Anxiety scores at <7 days
Creative arts therapies versus controls. Standard-deviation units express the group difference relative to variation in scores; negative values favor therapy.
Why timing matters
Researchers combined trial results separately by assessment period. The abstract reports favorable findings for anxiety, depression, and quality of life at selected intervals, with different assessment times reported for each outcome.
Reading the anxiety estimate
The standardized difference compares the gap between group averages with the variability in participants' scores. It is measured in standard deviations. Negative values favor therapy here; the estimate is not a percentage reduction in symptoms.
The original publication
Creative Arts Therapy for Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life in Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Chou ASL, McKechnie T, Arora V et al.
Psychooncology · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41852192
- Record checked
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