AUTHOR=Yan Shen , Yan Feng , Liangyu Pei , Fei Xu 

TITLE=Assessment of non-pharmacological nursing strategies for pain management in tumor patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pain Research

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pain-research/articles/10.3389/fpain.2025.1447075

DOI=10.3389/fpain.2025.1447075

ISSN=2673-561X

ABSTRACT=Summary backgroundCancer is a multifactorial disease associated with intense pain and fatigue. Pain is the main discomfort experienced during cancer treatment, particularly as a major side effect of chemotherapy.ObjectiveThis study has aimed to investigate the effectiveness of non-pharmacological nursing strategies, including reflexology, aromatherapy, acupressure, massage therapy and acupuncture, in the management of cancer-associated pain. Moreover, it provides evidence-based recommendations for integrating these interventions into standard pain management protocols.Search methodologyWe gathered data from three major online databases; PubMed, the Cochrane Library and Embase. For the analysis, we exclusively targeted randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions in managing cancer-related pain. No language restrictions were applied, and pain was considered the primary outcome measure.ResultsSeventeen RCTs (n = 1,070) were included in this meta-analysis from 166 eligible studies. The pooled effect size demonstrated that all evaluated non-pharmacological nursing strategies, including aromatherapy, massage, reflexology, acupressure and acupuncture significantly reduced cancer-related pain compared to usual care (p < 0.001). Moreover, the reflexology and massage showed negligible heterogeneity among other interventions.ConclusionThis meta-analysis found the significant effectiveness of non-pharmacological nursing strategies, particularly reflexology and massage in reducing cancer-related pain. The findings support their integration into clinical practice, providing evidence-based recommendations for enhancing standard pain management protocols.