Impact of supportive therapy modalities on heart rate variability in cancer patients – a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose: To systematically review literature for interventional studies and their impact on autonomic dysfunction assessed by heart rate variability in cancer patients.

Methods: Research was conducted using the databases Medline/Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of science from their inception to October 2017. Original articles with an interventional design that reported changes in at least one heart rate variability parameter as outcome parameter were included and described.

Results: Ten studies were identified as eligible for subsequent analysis. The main application field in oncological therapy setting was music therapy intervention, Traditional Chinese Medicine related treatments, exercise interventions, relaxation, and myofascial release techniques. Breast cancer was the most frequently described single cancer entity. Heart rate variability recording was performed with standard electrocardiography devices or wearable heart rate monitors, within a time range between 5 and 20 min and a sampling rate varying from 200 to 1000 Hz. No adverse events were reported in all studies.

Conclusions: Supportive therapy modalities may have the potential to enhance vegetative functioning. In this context, heart rate variability analysis appears to be an easily applicable and safe method to evaluate cancer related autonomic dysfunction. More large prospective multicentre randomised controlled trials are needed.

Implication for rehabilitation

• Most cancer patients face autonomic dysfunction due to the disease itself the applied treatments or combination of both.

• HRV measurement is an easy and safe method to asses autonomic dysfunction.

• Supportive treatments targeting on an elevation of the vagal tone and autonomic balance in general might have beneficial effects for cancer patients

Keywords:

• Oncological rehabilitation
• autonomic nervous system
• autonomic dysfunction
• supportive treatment
• vagal tone

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.