RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The impact of psychosocial interventions on survival remains controversial in patients with cancer. A meta-analysis of the recent literature was conducted to evaluate the potential survival benefit associated with psychosocial interventions for cancer patients. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central were searched from January 2004 to May 2015 for all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared survival outcomes between cancer patients receiving a psychosocial intervention and those receiving other, or no interventions. Endpoints included one-, two-, and four-year overall survival. Subgroup analyses were performed to compare group-versus individually-delivered interventions, and to assess breast cancer-only trials. RESULTS: Of 5,080 identified articles, thirteen trials were included for analysis. There was a significant survival benefit for the intervention group at one year [risk ratio (RR) =0.82; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.67-1.00; P=0.04] and two years (RR =0.86; 95% CI, 0.78-0.95; P=0.003). However, no significant difference was detected at four years (RR =0.94; 95% CI, 0.85-1.04; P=0.24). Among patients with breast cancer, there was a significant survival benefit of psychosocial interventions at one year (RR =0.59; 95% CI, 0.42-0.82; P=0.002), but no difference at two years (RR =0.82; 95% CI, 0.67-1.02; P=0.07) or four years (RR =0.95; 95% CI, 0.73-1.23; P=0.68). Group-delivered interventions had a significant survival benefit favouring the intervention group at one year (RR =0.57; 95% CI, 0.41-0.79; P=0.0008), but no difference at two years (RR =0.84; 95% CI, 0.68-1.02; P=0.08) or four years (RR =0.94; 95% CI, 0.75-1.20; P=0.64). Individually-delivered interventions had no significant survival benefit at one year (RR =0.92; 95% CI, 0.79-1.08; P=0.32), two years (RR =0.87; 95% CI, 0.75-1.00; P=0.05), or four years (RR =0.93; 95% CI, 0.84-1.04; P=0.21). CONCLUSIONS: For the main analysis and group-delivered treatments, psychosocial interventions demonstrated only short-term improvements in survival. Individually-delivered interventions failed to show any survival benefit. Future studies with longer follow-up are warranted to investigate long-term survival outcomes.