Yoga can help recovery in those living with cancer – ASCO 2023

Exciting news for yoga research – two studies were presented at the ASCO conference this year on the benefits of a yoga practice to support the recovery of those living with cancer. If you are not familiar with the ASCO (or American Society for Clinical Oncology) conference, it is the biggest cancer conference in the world and the place for exciting developments in oncology.

As a clarification note, both studies seem to be from the same group, who list this as the clinical trial page (although the study results on there relate to insomnia, so I’m assuming they haven’t published the below on the clinical trial page). Also, neither study is, I believe, peer-reviewed, ie it hasn’t been checked and sliced by other researchers.

Yoga improves fatigue and overall quality of life

The first study looked at the effects of a specifically designed yoga programme called YOCAS on fatigue and quality of life among cancer survivors, comparing it to a health education programme specifically designed for cancer survivors. You can find out more information on YOCAS here, but briefly, it includes a gentle hatha yoga practice, some pranayama/breathing exercises and meditation, including a body scan meditation that sounds very much like a yoga nidra. Participants (who were older ie 60+ cancer survivors, 2–60 months post-treatment) practiced YOCAS for 75 minutes, twice a week, for 4 weeks, or received health education twice a week for 4 weeks.

When the groups were compared, the researchers found that those who took part in the YOCAS programme experienced statistically significant improvements in fatigue compared with those who took part in the health education programme. Similarly, participants in the YOCAS programme experienced improvements in both the emotional and physical components of quality of life, compared with those receiving health education – this means that they felt both physically and emotionally better. Overall, YOCAS participants said the programme helped them manage any residual side effects of treatment and that they would recommend the programme to others.

What does this mean?

The study highlights that a gentle and holistic yoga programme can be very supportive for those who have survived cancer, making them feel better both physically and emotionally, which can only be a good thing after receiving cancer treatment. The fact that it made them feel that they could manage side effects is an added bonus too (and probably contributed to the improvements in quality of life).

Yoga reduces inflammation among cancer survivors

You may remember that yoga has been shown in multiple studies to reduce unnecessary inflammation – I’ve written more about this here and here, including a definition of what inflammation is.

So it’s not a huge surprise (but welcome news nonetheless) that this study found that yoga, in the form of the YOCAS programme described above, reduced the levels of molecules that drive inflammation (specifically interleukin-1β (IL1β), interferon-γ (IFNγ) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNFα); yes, we love our acronyms in immunology). By contrast, the health education programme for cancer survivors (the one I described above) did not. Participants who practiced YOCAS also showed signs of an increase of markers that lower inflammation; again, the control group did not.

What does this mean?

Unnecessary inflammation is not great for anyone, and it’s especially not great if you have cancer as it’s associated with worse outcomes, including the cancer coming back (eg see here). So a yoga practice like YOCAS could be a really good way to support recovery, as part of their wider cancer management programme.

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As someone who has done quite a bit of work in oncology in my other life, I am really fascinated by the potential of a specially designed yoga practice to support those living with cancer or have survived cancer, as part of their holistic treatment plan. The research seems to suggest that it could be a simple and effective way to feel better but also potentially improve outcomes alongside treatment.

If you have experience in this area, or have completed a specialist training, I would love to hear from you – it is definitely something I have been thinking about, although the logistics of how you get into this field are putting me off slightly.

If you want to read more about the highlights from ASCO 2023, CRUK have a great summary blog post. The studies were also mentioned in the Guardian and the Huffington Post (and elsewhere, I’m sure).