Clinical trials have begun to explore the benefits that therapeutic massage can provide in alleviating some of the most debilitating symptoms of breast cancer.

Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, US, have previously conducted studies into the the biological benefits of massage therapy in healthy patients and are now examining how massage may help reduce fatigue in breast cancer patients.

Mark Hyman Rapaport, MD – chair of Emory's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences – has previously shown that massage therapy can boost the immune system and decrease anxiety for people who do not have cancer, and is now leading the investigation into breast cancer.

"We decided to look at massage therapy for cancer fatigue because cancer-related fatigue is one of the most prevalent and debilitating symptoms experienced by people with cancer," said Rapaport.

"Many studies investigating massage for patients with cancer have been focused on depression, anxiety or pain."

Participants in the study are post-surgery breast cancer patients, between the ages of 18 and 65, who have been treated with standard chemotherapy, chemoprevention and/or radiation, and are suffering with cancer-related fatigue. The study patients are between six months and four years post-treatment. There are plans to enroll a total of 72 patients over the course of the study.

During six weeks of treatments, participants are assigned to one of three study groups: six weeks of a once-a-week Swedish massage, six weeks of once-a-week light touch massage or a six-week wait period, followed by six weeks of either light touch or Swedish massage. Certified massage therapists from the Atlanta School of Massage perform the massages.

Over the course of the treatment visits, information needed to assess the effect of the study will be gathered through a variety of measures. Vital signs, such as pulse and blood pressure are taken at each visit, and at three of the six study visits a small amount of blood is utilised to check for levels of immune markers. The study staff ask questions about such things as life stressors, medical health and the use of medicine and other substances. Participants also fill out a questionnaire on fatigue and quality of life.

Investigators will analyse and compile the data from the information received from the assessments to make a final evaluation of the success of this treatment. The researchers say that more than 50 per cent of patients with cancer have used a complementary and alternative medicine approach for symptom management and note that relevant scientific studies are needed to identify alternative treatments that work for these patients.

Previous research into the efficacy of massage therapy has shown that Swedish massage can provide strong circulatory benefits, while scientists at the UK’s Glasgow Caledonian University are currently exploring whether abdominal massage can help alleviate the acutest symptoms of multiple sclerosis.