The effectiveness of reflexology on mental health in cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Smith, 2018, Massage, reflexology and other manual methods for pain management in labour, Cochrane Database Syst. Rev., 3 Lucas, 2018, Complementary and alternative medicine utilisation for the management of acute respiratory tract infection in children: a systematic review, Compl. Ther. Med., 37, 158, 10.1016/j.ctim.2018.03.001 Veziari, 2017, Barriers to the conduct and application of research in complementary and alternative medicine: a systematic review, BMC Compl. Alternative Med., 17, 166, 10.1186/s12906-017-1660-0 Santucci, 2020, Progress in cancer mortality, incidence, and survival: a global overview, Eur. J. Cancer Prev., 29, 367, 10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000594 Gholamzadeh, 2019, Effect of reflexology on the side effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients: an integrative review, Evidence Based Care, 8, 7 Wanchai, 2020, A systematic review association of reflexology in managing symptoms and side effects of breast cancer treatment, Compl. Ther. Clin. Pract., 38 Singer, 2010, Prevalence of mental health conditions in cancer patients in acute care—a meta-analysis, Ann. Oncol., 21, 925, 10.1093/annonc/mdp515 Horneber, 2012, How many cancer patients use complementary and alternative medicine:a systematic review and metaanalysis, Integr. Cancer Ther., 11, 187, 10.1177/1534735411423920 Wilkinson, 2008, Reflexology for symptom relief in patients with cancer, Cancer Nurs., 31, 354, 10.1097/01.NCC.0000305756.58615.81 Norman, 1989 Kim, 2010, Reflexology for the symptomatic treatment of breast cancer: a systematic review, Integr. Cancer Ther., 9, 326, 10.1177/1534735410387423 Yeun, 2021, The effects of foot reflexology on the physical symptoms of cancer patients, Exerc Sci, 30, 8, 10.15857/ksep.2021.30.1.8 Kim, 2011, Meta-analysis of the effectiveness on foot-reflexo-massage for cancer patients, J Korean Oncol Nurs, 11, 127, 10.5388/jkon.2011.11.2.127 Chandrababu, 2019, Effectiveness of reflexology on anxiety of patients undergoing cardiovascular interventional procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, J. Adv. Nurs., 75, 43, 10.1111/jan.13822 Wang, 2020, Effect of foot reflexology intervention on depression, anxiety, and sleep quality in adults: a meta-analysis and metaregression of randomized controlled trials, Evid Based Complement Alternat. Med., 2020 Page, 2021, The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews, BMJ, 372, n71, 10.1136/bmj.n71 Sterne, 2011, Recommendations for examining and interpreting funnel plot asymmetry in meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials, BMJ, 343, 10.1136/bmj.d4002 Popay Campbell, 2020, Synthesis without meta-analysis (SWiM) in systematic reviews: reporting guideline, BMJ, 368 Blackburn, 2021, Effect of foot reflexology and aromatherapy on anxiety and pain during brachytherapy for cervical cancer, Oncol. Nurs. Forum, 48, 265, 10.1188/21.ONF.265-276 Noh, 2019, Effects of aroma self-foot reflexology on peripheral neuropathy, peripheral skin temperature, anxiety, and depression in gynaecologic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: a randomised controlled trial, Eur. J. Oncol. Nurs., 42, 82, 10.1016/j.ejon.2019.08.007 Hodgson, 2000, Does reflexology impact on cancer patients' quality of life?, Nurs. Stand., 14, 33, 10.7748/ns2000.04.14.31.33.c2817 Dyer, 2013, Is reflexology as effective as aromatherapy massage for symptom relief in an adult outpatient oncology population?, Compl. Ther. Clin. Pract., 19, 139, 10.1016/j.ctcp.2013.03.002 Sikorskii, 2020, Symptom response analysis of a randomized controlled trial of reflexology for symptom management among women with advanced breast cancer, Support. Care Cancer, 28, 1395, 10.1007/s00520-019-04959-y Tarrasch, 2018, Carmel-Neiderman NN, Ben-Ami S, Kaufman B, Pfeffer R, Ben-David M, et al. The effect of reflexology on the pain-insomnia-fatigue disturbance cluster of breast cancer patients during adjuvant radiation therapy, J. Alternative Compl. Med., 24, 62, 10.1089/acm.2017.0023 Quattrin, 2006, Use of reflexology foot massage to reduce anxiety in hospitalized cancer patients in chemotherapy treatment: methodology and outcomes, J. Nurs. Manag., 14, 96, 10.1111/j.1365-2934.2006.00557.x Todd Özdelikara, 2017, The effect of reflexology on the quality of life with breast cancer patients, Compl. Ther. Clin. Pract., 29, 122, 10.1016/j.ctcp.2017.09.004 Sharp DM, Walker MB, Chaturvedi A, Upadhyay S, Hamid A, Walker AA, et al. A randomised controlled trial of the psychoneuroimmunological effects of reflexology in women with early-stage breast cancer. Paper presented at: Breast Cancer Research 2010; 18 May 2010; London, UK. Accessed 16 February 2022. https://doi.org/10.1186/bcr2523. Quick AM, Hill C, Sinnott L, Thomas K, Lindsay A, Martin DD, et al. The use of aromatherapy and foot reflexology to reduce pain and anxiety during brachytherapy for cervical cancer. Paper presented at: 2019 ASTRO Annual Meeting; 15-18 September 2019; Chicago, IL. Accessed 16 February 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.06.1734. Molinaro M, Fernandes P, Ishi-Kawa N. The effect of reflexology on cancer patients with pain in palliative care. Paper Presented at: 18th International Congress on Palliative Care 2010; Montreal, Canada. Accessed 16 February 2022. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/082585971002600313. Lee, 2012, The effects of foot reflexology on peripheral neuropathy, symptom distress, anxiety and depression in cancer patients treated with oxaliplatin, Asian Oncol. Nurs., 12, 305, 10.5388/aon.2012.12.4.305 Hwang, 2005, Effects of foot reflexzone massage on state-anxiety and discomfort in ovarian cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, Korean J. Women Health Nurs., 11, 209, 10.4069/kjwhn.2005.11.3.209 Pedram Razi, 2013, The effect of reflexology on quality of life of breast cancer patients during chemotherapy, Iran J. Breast Dis., 6, 23 Ghazavi, 2016, The effect of foot reflexology massage on vital signs and anxiety related to chemotherapy drug injection in children with leukemia, Medsurg Nurs. J, 4, 48 Uysal, 2017, Effects of foot massage applied in two different methods on symptom control in colorectal cancer patients: randomised control trial, vol. 23 Dikmen, 2019, Effects of reflexology and progressive muscle relaxation on pain, fatigue, and quality of life during chemotherapy in gynecologic cancer patients, Pain Manag. Nurs., 20, 47, 10.1016/j.pmn.2018.03.001 Hodgson, 2012, Reflexology versus Swedish massage to reduce physiologic stress and pain and improve mood in nursing home residents with cancer: a pilot trial, Evid Based Complement Alternat. Med., 2012, 10.1155/2012/456897 Stephenson, 2007, Partner-delivered reflexology: effects on cancer pain and anxiety, Oncol. Nurs. Forum, 34, 127, 10.1188/07.ONF.127-132 Stephenson, 1997 Stephenson, 2000, The effects of foot reflexology on anxiety and pain in patients with breast and lung cancer, Oncol. Nurs. Forum, 27, 67 Wyatt, 2012, Health-related quality-of-life outcomes: a reflexology trial with patients with advanced-stage breast cancer, Oncol. Nurs. Forum, 39, 568, 10.1188/12.ONF.568-577 Wyatt, 2017, A randomized clinical trial of caregiver-delivered reflexology for symptom management during breast cancer treatment, J. Pain Symptom Manag., 54, 670, 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.07.037 Kurt, 2018, Reflexology in the management of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy: a pilot randomized controlled trial, Eur. J. Oncol. Nurs., 32, 12, 10.1016/j.ejon.2017.11.001 Türkcü, 2021, The effects of reflexology on anxiety, depression and quality of life in patients with gynecological cancers with reference to Watson's theory of human caring, Compl. Ther. Clin. Pract. Green, 2010, Alterations in the Th1/Th2 balance in breast cancer patients using reflexology and scalp massage, Exp. Ther. Med., 1, 97, 10.3892/etm_00000018 Ross, 2002, A pilot study to evaluate the effect of reflexology on mood and symptom rating of advanced cancer patients, Palliat. Med., 16, 544, 10.1191/0269216302pm597xx Sharp, 2010, A randomised, controlled trial of the psychological effects of reflexology in early breast cancer, Eur. J. Cancer, 46, 312, 10.1016/j.ejca.2009.10.006 Tsay, 2008, Effects of reflexotherapy on acute postoperative pain and anxiety among patients with digestive cancer, Cancer Nurs., 31, 109, 10.1097/01.NCC.0000305694.74754.7b Mantoudi, 2020, Complementary therapies for patients with cancer: reflexology and relaxation in integrative palliative care a randomized controlled comparative study, J. Alternative Compl. Med., 26, 794, 10.1089/acm.2019.0402 Jahani, 2018, The effect of reflexology in intensity of pain and anxiety among patients suffering from metastatic cancer in adults' hematology ward, Asian J. Pharmaceut. Clin. Res., 11, 401, 10.22159/ajpcr.2018.v11i6.25212 Hoffmann, 2014, Better reporting of interventions: template for intervention description and replication (TIDieR) checklist and guide, BMJ, 348, 10.1136/bmj.g1687 Schulz, 2010, CONSORT 2010 statement: updated guidelines for reporting parallel group randomised trials, Trials, 11, 1, 10.1186/1745-6215-11-32