Lu N, Huang KC. Improving cancer patients’ prognosis by incorporating mindfulness intervention into the treatment strategy. World J Psychiatry 2025; 15(5): 102977 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i5.102977]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Kuo-Cherh Huang, PhD, Professor, School of Health Care Administration, College of Management, Taipei Medical University, 11 Fl., Biomedical Technology Building, No. 301, Yuantong Rd, New Taipei City 235, Taiwan. kchuang@tmu.edu.tw
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Psychiatry. May 19, 2025; 15(5): 102977 Published online May 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i5.102977
Improving cancer patients’ prognosis by incorporating mindfulness intervention into the treatment strategy
Ning Lu, Kuo-Cherh Huang
Ning Lu, Department of Health Administration and Informatics, College of Health and Human Services, Governors State University, University Park, IL 60484, United States
Kuo-Cherh Huang, School of Health Care Administration, College of Management, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 235, Taiwan
Author contributions: Huang KC wrote the original draft; Lu N contributed to reviewing, revising, and editing; both authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kuo-Cherh Huang, PhD, Professor, School of Health Care Administration, College of Management, Taipei Medical University, 11 Fl., Biomedical Technology Building, No. 301, Yuantong Rd, New Taipei City 235, Taiwan. kchuang@tmu.edu.tw
Received: November 4, 2024 Revised: January 20, 2025 Accepted: February 7, 2025 Published online: May 19, 2025 Processing time: 177 Days and 19.1 Hours
Abstract
This letter discusses the study by Liu et al recently published in World Journal of Psychiatry, which examines the benefits of combining epirubicin (EPI) with mindfulness interventions for patients with urinary system tumors and depression. The study included 110 patients and compared an experimental group receiving EPI and a mindfulness intervention strategy with a control group treated with mitomycin and standard care. Results showed that the experimental group had significant improvements in immune function, tumor markers, depression severity, quality of life, cancer-related fatigue, and nursing satisfaction. Despite acknowledging the study limitations such as a relatively small sample size and a short duration, the study highlights the efficacy of integrating mindfulness interventions into cancer treatment strategies to enhance patient outcomes and address psychological distress.
Core Tip: The study by Liu et al highlights the clinical benefits of combining epirubicin with mindfulness interventions for patients with urinary system tumors and depression. Results showed that combined therapy significant improved immune function, tumor marker levels, depression severity, quality of life, and nursing satisfaction. Despite the study limitations including a small sample size and a short intervention period, the findings underscore the potential benefits of integrating mindfulness interventions into cancer treatment strategies. Given the rising incidence of urinary system tumors and associated psychological distress, further research is essential to explore similar approaches across patients with various cancer types.
