Journal article
Metabolic Effects of Healing Touch During Cervical Cancer Treatment: An Exploratory Analysis
Integrative cancer therapies, Vol.24, pp.1-15
01/2025
DOI: 10.1177/15347354251367793
PMCID: PMC12411712
PMID: 40908656
Abstract
Cancer treatment with chemotherapy frequently leads to side effects such as fatigue, pain, nausea, and anxiety. Healing Touch is a non-invasive complementary therapy often used by cancer patients to address side effects of treatment. To better inform the use of complementary therapies, there is a need to understand the biological mechanisms underlying the effects of such treatments.
This study included 44 patients with cervical cancer undergoing chemoradiation randomized into a Healing Touch (HT), a relaxation training (RT) and a usual care (UC) group. An exploratory metabolomics analysis was conducted on plasma samples taken at baseline, 4, and 6 weeks of ongoing treatment (4 sessions per week).
A multivariate data analysis revealed no significant separation in metabolites between the 3 groups. Univariate data analysis revealed changes in metabolites between baseline and week 6 within each group. The main findings were lower levels of acylcarnitines, bile acids and proline in the HT group, higher levels of fatty acids in the HT and RT groups, and lower levels of kynurenine and quinolate in the UC group. The network of correlations between metabolites shows clear differences in correlations between steroids, fatty acids, sphyngomyelins, amino acids, and γ glutamyl peptides between the 3 groups, suggesting a more flexible and resilient metabolism in the HT and RT groups compared with UC.
This first exploratory study investigating metabolic effects of Healing Touch in cancer patients indicated suggestive differences in metabolic signatures which need further investigation in a larger study.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Metabolic Effects of Healing Touch During Cervical Cancer Treatment: An Exploratory Analysis
- Creators
- Herman A van Wietmarschen - Louis Bolk InstituutEstela Area-Gomez - Universidad EuropeaMartin Picard - Columbia UniversityMichael J Goodheart - University of IowaAnil K Sood - The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterSusan K Lutgendorf - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Integrative cancer therapies, Vol.24, pp.1-15
- DOI
- 10.1177/15347354251367793
- PMID
- 40908656
- PMCID
- PMC12411712
- NLM abbreviation
- Integr Cancer Ther
- ISSN
- 1552-695X
- eISSN
- 1552-695X
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/2025
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Obstetrics and Gynecology; Urology
- Record Identifier
- 9984958288302771
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