Radical Remission Multimodal Intervention Improves QOL in Patients With Cancer

Patients with any type of cancer showed better QOL after undergoing the radical remission multimodal intervention method.

The radical remission multimodal intervention (RRMI) therapy method led to improved quality-of-life (QOL) compared with baseline levels in patients with any cancer, according to a recent pre-post outcome study published in Integrative Cancer Therapies.

At month 1, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy—Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp) scores increased by 9.5 (95% CI, 6.2-12.8; P <.0001) when compared with baseline, a 7.7% improvement. At month 6, FACIT-Sp scores increased by 9.7 (95% CI, 6.4-13.0; P <.001) when compared with baseline, a 10.8% improvement.

“Findings from this study suggest that a safe, low-cost, and relatively easy to implement intervention such as the RRMI has the potential to significantly improve the QOL of individuals with cancer,” Junaidah B Barnett, PhD, Department of Nutrition at Harvard University and lead study author wrote. “Higher QOL is associated with improved well-being and cancer prognoses, including decreased adverse effects (AEs), decreased morbidity, and increased lifespan.”

In total, 119 completed the study questionaries at baseline (a week prior to the program), at month 1, and 100 patients completed at month 6. At baseline, 92% of patients were women, 77% were non-Hispanic White, 88% lived in the US, and 66.5% did not live alone. The mean age was 55.3 years and approximately 50% of patients had education beyond college.

To be eligible for participation, patients needed all of the following: a cancer diagnosis, being 18 years or older, citizenship of the US or non-European countries, broadband internet access, and registration for the RRMI workshops, either online or in-person.

The RRMI program includes 9 lifestyle factors of focus: having strong reasons for living, embracing social support, using herbs and supplements, radically changing your diet, releasing suppressed emotions, following your intuition, increasing positive emotions, taking control of your health, and deepening your spiritual connection.

Data were collected at baseline, at 1 month post-intervention (mean, 62 days; range, 30-165), and at 6 months post-intervention (mean, 250 days; range, 180-516). The following questionnaires were used for data: Calendar of Study Activities Questionnaire, Participant Information Questionnaire, Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Questionnaire, Quality of Life Questionnaire, Participation and Practice Questionnaire, and Medical Records.

All measures of QOL for all patients with cancer were notably higher at month 1 then baseline aside for physical wellbeing (P = .53 for physical well-being and P <.05 for all other measures), which was also worse at month 6. Additionally, at month 6, the emotional well-being score improved 21.4%. Per emotional well-being, living situation was greatly influential and patients living with either a partner, family member, or pet had an average FACIT-Sp score increase of 1.5 points vs patients living alone (P = .0087).

Breast cancer was the most common diagnosis (25.0%), followed by skin (7.0%), colon/rectal (5.5%), and ovary (5.0%), among others. An increase of 9.2 points (11.1%) was observed in the FACIT-Sp scores of patients with breast cancer at 1 month, and 6.7 points (13.2%) at 6 months, when compared with baseline.

FACIT-Sp score improvement was not significantly differentiated between those who took the RRMI course online vs in person. Usage of conventional and alternative medicine did not appear to be correlated with outcome measures of interest.

As noted by the authors, study limitations were a convenience sample that was not randomized into intervention and control groups, a lack of control for disease stage and progression, combining cancer types, and the fact it did not provide long-term evaluation of the effects.

The authors also point out that the findings on the impact of RRMI on the measures of interest are unable to be solely attributed to RRMI, so the findings cannot be conclusive or generalized to all cancer populations.

“The lifestyle factors identified are known to prevent, slow, halt, and reverse multiple chronic diseases such as diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, including cancer. Hence, they are likely to be generally beneficial in most disease states,” the authors concluded.

Reference

Barnett JB, Wang GC, Zeng W, et al. Effect of the radical remission multimodal intervention on quality of life of people with cancer. Integr Cancer Ther. 2024;23:15347354241293197. doi:10.1177/15347354241293197