Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Combined with Radiotherapy on Patients with Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Pain

XU Junqin; XU Xinmei; XU Ruiqing

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1004-437X.2026.12.037

Abstract：Objective To study the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction combined with radiotherapy on patients with advanced head and neck cancer(nasopharyngeal carcinoma,laryngeal cancer)pain.Methods A total of 100 patients with advanced head and neck cancer pain admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from May 2023 to March 2024 were selected for the study.They were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group,with 50 patients in each group.The control group received routine care intervention after radiotherapy treatment,while the observation group received mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention in addition to the control group.Pain levels,negative emotions,and functional assessment of cancer therapy-head & neck(FACT-H&N)scale scores were recorded and compared between the two groups.Results After intervention,the VAS scores of both groups of patients were lower than before intervention,and the observation group had lower scores than the control group(P＜0.05).After intervention,the scores of the self-rating anxiety scale(SAS)and self-rating depression scale(SDS)in both groups of patients were lower than before intervention,and the observation group was lower than the control group(P＜0.05).After intervention,the emotional,physiological,functional,social/family,and head and neck condition scores of the two groups of patients were higher than before intervention,and the observation group was higher than the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion Mindfulness-based stress reduction combined with radiotherapy can effectively relieve the pain of patients with advanced head and neck cancer,improve negative emotions and improve the quality of life.