Reducing anxiety in cancer patients using mindfulness-based stress reduction and transcranial direct current stimulation

In the present study, electrical stimulation of the brain from the skull using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)was integrated with a stress-based stress reduction program. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction training with tDCS in reducing anxiety in adolescents with cancer.

In this quasi-experimental study,the statistical population included all adolescents with cancer in Mahak Hospital in Tehran, Iran, in 2020. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 40 people were selected and purposefully placed in 3 experimental groups and 1 control group.Patients were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The data collection tool used was the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). Members of the experimental group participated in sessions of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program and tDCS intervention. Members of the control group did not receive any intervention. To analyze the data, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), and least significant difference post hoc tests were used (P < 0.05).

The mindfulness-based stress reduction program combined with tDCSwas more effective than the separate use of these interventions and reduced anxiety in adolescents with cancer (P < 0.05). Mindfulness-based stress reduction program is more effective than tDCS intervention (P < 0.05). Mindfulness-based stress reduction programs are more effective than tDCS intervention (P < 0.05).

The use of a combination of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy with tDCS is more effective than using each of these interventions separately and can be combined with the other standard treatment for these patients.