Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Breast Cancer Survivors with Chronic Neuropathic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of group-delivered mindfulness-based stress reduction as compared to a waitlist control group among breast cancer survivors living with CNP. Methods: A randomized controlled trial design was applied, and outcomes collected included pain, emotional function, quality of life, and global impression of change. Results: A total of 98 women were randomized and included in analyses. The sample included 49 women in the mindfulness-based stress reduction group, and 49 women in the waitlist control group. The intervention group participants (mean age 51.3 years, standard deviation = 11.4) and waitlist participants (mean age 55.1 years, standard deviation = 9.6) reported an average pain duration of approximately three years. No significant differences were found on the primary outcome of the proportions of women with reduced pain interference scores from the time of randomization to 3 months after the intervention was received. No significant changes were found among secondary outcomes. Conclusion: Our randomized clinical trial did not find significant benefits of group-based mindfulness-based stress reduction for the management of CNP. The current study findings should be replicated and are important to consider given ongoing concerns that nonsignificant results of mindfulness-based stress reduction are often unpublished.

The relationship between mindfulness, pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, depression, and quality of life among cancer survivors living with chronic neuropathic pain.

PURPOSE: This study aims to examine if mindfulness is associated with pain catastrophizing, depression, disability, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cancer survivors with chronic neuropathic pain (CNP). METHOD: We conducted a cross-sectional survey with cancer survivors experiencing CNP. Participants (n = 76) were men (24 %) and women (76 %) with an average age of 56.5 years (SD = 9.4). Participants were at least 1 year post-treatment, with no evidence of cancer, and with symptoms of neuropathic pain for more than three months. Participants completed the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), along with measures of pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain interference, depression, and HRQOL. RESULTS: Mindfulness was negatively correlated with pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, pain interference, and depression, and it was positively correlated with mental health-related HRQOL. Regression analyses demonstrated that mindfulness was a negative predictor of pain intensity and depression and a positive predictor of mental HRQOL after controlling for pain catastrophizing, age, and gender. The two mindfulness facets that were most consistently associated with better outcomes were non-judging and acting with awareness. Mindfulness significantly moderated the relationships between pain intensity and pain catastrophizing and between pain intensity and pain interference. CONCLUSION: It appears that mindfulness mitigates the impact of pain experiences in cancer survivors experiencing CNP post-treatment. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: This study suggests that mindfulness is associated with better adjustment to CNP. This provides the foundation to explore whether mindfulness-based interventions improve quality of life among cancer survivors living with CNP.