Mindfulness meditation helps younger breast cancer survivors

Mindfulness meditation and survivorship education classes appear to reduce depression in younger breast cancer survivors, according to a University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)-led study presented at the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.1 Findings from the study showed that 6-week interventions reduced depression in younger patients with breast cancer. Specifically, more than 50% of the study participants scored in the clinically depressed stage before the study's mindfulness mediation intervention; that number fell to 30% during the study's follow-up period. The clinically depressed group also had significant decreases in fatigue severity, sleep disturbance, and hot flashes during the 6-month follow-up period. Participants who received survivorship education also experienced significant reductions in depressive symptoms after the intervention and at the 3-month follow-up. Younger breast cancer survivors often experience the highest levels of depression, stress, and fatigue, which can persist for up to a decade after their diagnoses. Because approximately 20% of breast cancer cases occur in women younger than 50 years, persistent depressive symptoms in this age group are of particular concern, the authors noted. Lead author Patricia Ganz, MD, associate director for population science at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, says that women aged 30 to 49 years who are diagnosed with breast cancer undergo a much different experience than older women. They often require more aggressive therapy that can be disruptive and disfiguring, causing high stress and a greater risk of negative effects from both diagnosis and treatment. Still, little research has focused on reducing depression and managing stress in this population, Dr. Ganz adds. Dr. Ganz collaborated with Julienne Bower, MD, a UCLA professor of psychology and psychiatry/biobehavioral sciences, as well as colleagues from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University to develop 2 behavioral interventions aimed at reducing depressive symptoms in this population. The programs involved 6 weeks of structured content delivered in groups and tailored for young breast cancer survivors. The mindfulness program incorporated instruction on how to use mindfulness to cope with difficult thoughts and emotions, manage pain, and cultivate loving kindness. The survivorship education program focused on quality of life, medical management, relationship and work-life balance, sexual health, and physical activity. Researchers enrolled 247 women who were diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer when they were 50 years old or younger, had at least mild depressive symptoms, and had completed their treatment between 6 months and 5 years before the study. They were randomly assigned to either survivorship education, mindfulness meditation, or a concurrent wait list control group that received the interventions of their choice after the study was completed. Assessments occurred before and after the interventions and at 3-month and 6-month post-study follow-ups.