Mindfulness interventions show small quality of life improvement in breast cancer survivors

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer survivors frequently experience acute and chronic psychological distress, which negatively affects quality of life. Mindfulness-based interventions have emerged as integrative supportive care strategies to improve psychosocial outcomes in this population. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness practices compared with standard care in improving quality of life among women surviving breast cancer. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) including women aged ≥18 years at any breast cancer stage who had completed primary treatment, had no psychiatric disorders, and no previous mindfulness experience. Twelve RCTs met eligibility criteria, comprising 1620 participants-849 assigned to mindfulness interventions and 771 to standard care. Risk of bias was predominantly low across studies. RESULTS: Mindfulness-based interventions resulted in a small but statistically significant improvement in quality of life (SMD = 0.36; 95 % CI: 0.20 to 0.53). According to the GRADE approach, the certainty of evidence was rated as moderate due to moderate heterogeneity (I = 59.9 %) and serious imprecision, although no publication bias was detected. LIMITATIONS: Considerable heterogeneity across interventions and outcomes, the predominance of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) protocols, the limited inclusion of metastatic patients, and potentially attenuated benefits in individuals with early-stage disease may have influenced effect estimates. CONCLUSION: Mindfulness practices are associated with meaningful improvements in quality of life in breast cancer survivors and, given their accessibility and applicability, may be recommended as part of comprehensive survivorship care.