Integrative medicine for pain among adolescent and young adult patients with cancer: a scoping review
A partir d'une revue de la littérature publiée jusqu'en août 2025 (22 études), cette étude évalue l'intérêt des médecines intégratives et complémentaires pour soulager la douleur des adolescents et jeunes adultes atteints d'un cancer
Purpose: Pain is common and debilitating among adolescents and young adults (AYAs, aged 15–39 years) with cancer. Conventional pain management is often insufficient and carries risks, particularly opioid misuse. Integrative medicine (IM) interventions offer promising nonpharmacological strategies, but evidence for AYAs remains unclear. This scoping review mapped the existing literature on IM interventions for pain management in AYAs with cancer and identified gaps to guide future research.
Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, and Scopus from database inception through August 31, 2025. Eligible studies included AYAs with cancer receiving IM interventions where pain was an outcome. Data were extracted on study characteristics, populations, interventions, pain outcomes, and qualitative findings.
Results: from 3,494 records, 22 studies met inclusion criteria, with only 7 (31.8%) being randomized clinical trials (N were all less than 150). Interventions included acupuncture, massage, yoga, mindfulness, music therapy, exercise, osteopathic manipulation, aromatherapy, and multimodal approaches. Pain was a common reason for IM use in descriptive studies. Ten of 15 studies reported that IM interventions improved pain outcomes either quantitatively or qualitatively. Evidence was limited by few prospective studies, small sample sizes, heterogeneous measures, and short follow-up.
Conclusions: IM interventions may improve pain for AYAs, but evidence is extremely limited. Rigorous prospective research is needed to build the evidence base and inform integration of IM into AYA pain management.
Implications for Cancer Survivors: IM interventions show promise in reducing pain for AYAs, but AYA-focused intervention development and clinical trials are needed to guide evidence-based integration into routine care.
Journal of Cancer Survivorship , résumé, 2026