Chemotherapy is often accompanied by a range of treatment-related symptoms, including fatigue, sleep disturbances, and a decline in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). While the potential benefits of yoga in alleviating these symptoms post-treatment have been recognized, its impact during chemotherapy has remained underexplored. In 2015, a study led by Suzanne C. Danhauer and her colleagues aimed to address this gap by assessing the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a community-based randomized trial of yoga for women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.

The research team recruited 40 women with stage I-III breast cancer from three community cancer clinics. These women, aged between 29 and 83 years (median age of 48), were randomly assigned to either a 10-week gentle yoga intervention or a wellness education program. The primary objectives of the study were to estimate participant accrual, adherence, and retention, while also evaluating the preliminary efficacy of the yoga intervention in comparison to the wellness education control group.

Depressive symptoms, fatigue, sleep quality, and HRQoL were measured at three key points: baseline, mid-intervention (Week 5), and after the intervention (Week 10). The study aimed to uncover whether yoga could provide tangible benefits to women while they were actively undergoing chemotherapy.

The study found that recruitment and retention rates were promising, with participants providing positive feedback across both the yoga and wellness education groups. Importantly, meaningful within-group differences were observed. For those in the yoga group, improvements in sleep adequacy and quantity were noted, while participants in the wellness education group reported improvements in somnolence.

Although the sample size was small, and there was no usual-care control group, the results suggest that yoga may help stabilize symptom severity during chemotherapy. The yoga group, in particular, showed a trend toward maintaining symptom stability, whereas the control group exhibited a trend toward worsening symptoms.

The study also highlighted several challenges inherent to conducting multisite yoga research during cancer treatment. These include logistical issues and the need for a larger sample size to draw more definitive conclusions. Despite these challenges, the research successfully demonstrated the feasibility of conducting a community-based randomized trial of yoga for women undergoing chemotherapy.

This pioneering study underscores the potential of yoga as a supportive therapy during chemotherapy for breast cancer. While further research with larger sample sizes and additional control groups is necessary, the preliminary findings are promising. Yoga may offer a non-invasive, complementary approach to managing the side effects of chemotherapy, helping to improve the quality of life for women battling breast cancer.

Reference: Danhauer, S. C., Griffin, L. P., Avis, N. E., Sohl, S. J., Jesse, M. T., Addington, E. L., & Shaw, E. (2015). Feasibility of implementing a community-based randomized trial of yoga for women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. The Journal of community and supportive oncology, 13(4), 139.