Aromatherapy Massage in Cancer: A Systematic Literature Review

Aim: This study aimed to systematically investigate the efficacy of aromatherapy massage in alleviating the symptoms of patients with cancer and who are receiving cancer treatment.

Method: This is a document analysis. The literature review was conducted in June and September 2016. The articles used in this reviewed were retrieved by searching BMJ Journals, CINAHL Plus, Ebscohost, JSTOR, Ovid LWW Total Access, Pubmed, ProQuest Digital Dissertation, Sage Journal, Science Direct, Scopus, Taylor & Francis, Wiley Online Library-Blackwell, and Google Academic databases with the key words “cancer,” “oncology,” “palliative,” and “aromatherapy massage” and their combinations. Sixteen articles relevant to purpose of this study were included in the analysis.

Results: This review mainly investigated the effect of aromatherapy massage on the severity of anxiety, depression, pain, nausea, and vomiting and the quality of life of patients with cancer. In patients with cancer, aromatherapy massage decreases the levels of fatigue, emotional distress, anxiety, cortisol and prolactin; the duration of bed rest; and the severity of sleep problems, constipation, and lymphatic edema. By contrast, aromatherapy increases the general wellness and lymphocyte levels of patients with cancer.

Conclusion: Aromatherapy massage decreases the physical and psychological symptoms and improves the general well-being and quality of life of patients with cancer and who are undergoing treatment. Further research is warranted to investigate the effects of aromatic oil and massage duration, frequency, and area. Well-designed randomized controlled trials with large sample sizes that compare aromatherapy massage with other complementary therapies are recommended.