Characteristics of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase as psychobiological study outcomes in palliative care research.

Background: Psychosocial interventions are rapidly emerging in palliative care. However, randomized trials often fail to provide evidence for their effectiveness with regard to patient-reported outcomes. Stress biomarkers could complement self-report data, but little is known about their feasibility, acceptance, and interpretability.

Psychoneuroendocrinological effects of music therapy versus mindfulness in palliative care: results from the 'Song of Life' randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: Although research on psychosocial interventions in palliative care provided evidence for their effectiveness regarding patient-reported outcomes, few studies have examined their psychobiological effects yet. Therefore, the purpose of the present work as part of an overarching study was to investigate differential effects of music therapy versus mindfulness on subjective distress and both neuroendocrine and autonomic stress biomarkers.

Methods: A total of 104 patients from two palliative care units were randomly assigned to three sessions of either music therapy or mindfulness.

"Song of Life": Results of a multicenter randomized trial on the effects of biographical music therapy in palliative care.

Background: Awareness for the importance of psychological and spiritual needs in patients with terminal diseases has increased in recent years, but randomized trials on the effects of psychosocial interventions are still rare.

Aim: To investigate the efficacy of the "Song of Life" music therapy intervention regarding the emotional and psycho-spiritual dimensions of quality of life.

Design: Patients were randomly assigned to either "Song of Life" or a relaxation intervention.

Stress-reducing effects of a brief mindfulness intervention in palliative care: Results from a randomised, crossover study.

Objective: Mindfulness-based interventions are a widely used and highly accepted adjunct treatment in oncology. Due to a paucity of research in advanced cancer and other terminal illnesses, we aimed to evaluate the stress-reducing effects of a brief, standardised mindfulness intervention for use in palliative care.

Methods: This study was a randomised, crossover trial where patients participated in both a single mindfulness intervention and a resting state control condition.

Minor contribution of cytochrome P450 3A activity on fentanyl exposure in palliative care cancer patients.

Transdermal fentanyl is widely used to control pain in cancer patients. The high pharmacokinetic variability of fentanyl is assumed to be due to cytochrome P450 3A-mediated (CYP3A) N-dealkylation to norfentanyl in humans. However, recently published clinical studies question the importance of the described metabolic pathway.