Paul B. Jacobsen, PhD

There is a growing recognition in oncology of the importance of maintaining or improving patients’ quality of life (QOL) throughout the disease course. With this goal in mind, many clinical trials in oncology now seek to evaluate QOL end points.

Spiegel and Moore draw an important distinction between the use of psychological techniques to promote quality of life and their use to promote quantity of life. On the one hand, a considerable body of research documents that hypnosis and other psychological techniques improve the quality of life of cancer patients. On the other hand, only limited empiric evidence supports the view that imagery and other psychological techniques increase the quantity of life of cancer patients.