Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar 1;16(2):57-64.
doi: 10.6004/jadpro.2025.16.2.2. eCollection 2025 Mar.

Decreasing Pain Intensity in Adult Patients With Cancer Through Music Therapy: A Complementary Non-Pharmacological Approach

Leighann B Montoya  1 , Dorothie Durosier Mertilus  1
Affiliations

Decreasing Pain Intensity in Adult Patients With Cancer Through Music Therapy: A Complementary Non-Pharmacological Approach

Leighann B Montoya et al. J Adv Pract Oncol. .

Abstract

Background: Adequate pain management continues to be an unmet need in patients with cancer. Pain is known to impact the quality of life. It is recommended that treatment plans include pharmacological and complementary non-pharmacological methods for managing pain. Music listening therapy is an evidence-based intervention used to manage acute and chronic pain in adult patients with cancer.

Methods: This evidence-based practice project applied the use of music therapy in adult patients with cancer experiencing moderate to severe pain despite current pharmacological treatment in a rural outpatient oncology clinic. Pre- and post-intervention pain scores were assessed using a numeric rating scale, and results were analyzed using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

Results: The results showed 83% of participants reported a reduction in pain intensity by at least one pain level after using music listening therapy. Additionally, 100% of participants expressed a willingness to continue music listening therapy at home as a self-guided technique to reduce pain severity.

Conclusion: The role of the advanced practice provider must include comprehensive pain management and pain monitoring to assess its impact on patient quality of life. Patients are more willing to perform complementary interventions that have minimal barriers to physical, economic, and environmental factors, particularly in rural settings where the lack of additional health resources is significant. Music listening therapy may be conducted in any environment with known positive impacts on acute and chronic pain. Therefore, music listening therapy is a viable non-pharmacological complementary intervention that should be included in the education provided to our patients in their fight against cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant demographic information. Ring 1: Diagnosis. Ring 2: Gender. Ring 3: Age. NSCLC = non–small cell lung cancer; DLBCL = diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; BR CA = breast cancer; HCC = hepatocellular carcinoma; MM = multiple myeloma; SCLC = small cell lung cancer; AML = acute myeloid leukemia; CRC = colorectal cancer.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Participant selection, intervention, and data collection.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Pre- and post-intervention pain intensity scores.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Alghadir, A. H., Anwer, S., Iqbal, A., & Iqbal, Z. A. (2018). Test-retest reliability, validity, and minimum detectable change of visual analog, numerical rating, and verbal rating scales for measurement of osteoarthritic knee pain. Journal of Pain Research, 11, 851–856. 10.2147/JPR.S158847 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baltic, T. E., Whedon, M. B., Ahles, T. A., & Fanciullo, G. (2002). Improving pain relief in a rural cancer center. Cancer Practice, 10(1), 39–44. 10.1046/j.1523-5394.10.s.1.10.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Deng, G. (2019). Integrative medicine therapies for pain management in cancer patients. Cancer Journal, 25(5), 343–348. 10.1097/PPO.0000000000000399 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eriksson, I., Lindblad, M., Möller, U., & Gillsjö, C. (2018). Holistic health care: Patients' experiences of health care provided by an advanced practice nurse. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 24(1), e12603. 10.1111/ijn.12603 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Everdingen, M., Hochstenbach, L. M. J., Joosten, E. A. J., Tjan-Heijnen, V. C. G., & Janssen, D. J. A. (2016). Update on prevalence of pain in patients with cancer: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 51(6), 1070–1090. 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.12.340 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources