[Effects of abdominal breathing training using biofeedback on stress, immune response and quality of life in patients with a mastectomy for breast cancer].
OBJECTIVE
This study was to determine the effects of abdominal breathing training using biofeedback on stress, immune response, and quality of life.


METHODS
The study design was a nonequivalent control group pretest- posttest, quasi-experimental design. Twenty-five breast cancer patients who had completed adjuvant chemotherapy were enrolled. The experimental group (n=12) was provided with abdominal breathing training using biofeedback once a week for 4 weeks. State anxiety, cancer physical symptoms, serum cortisol, T cell subsets (T3, T4, T8), NK cell and quality of life were measured both before and after the intervention.


RESULTS
Though state anxiety, cancer physical symptoms, and serum cortisol were reduced after 4 weeks of abdominal breathing training using biofeedback, there was no statistical significance. It showed, however, improvement in quality of life (p=.02), and T3 (p=.04).


CONCLUSIONS
Abdominal breathing training using biofeedback improves quality of life in breast cancer patients after a mastectomy. However, the mechanism of this beneficial effect and stress response requires further investigation with special consideration in subject selection and frequency of measurement. Nurses should consider this strategy as a standard nursing intervention for people living with cancer.
Kim
Keum Soon
KS
College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Korea. kimks@snu.ac.kr
Lee
So Woo
SW
Choe
Myoung Ae
MA
Yi
Myung Sun
MS
Choi
Smi
S
Kwon
So-Hi
SH
D000328:Adult; D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000601:surgery; D001945:Breathing Exercises; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D008408:Mastectomy / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets
D006854:Hydrocortisone