Natural killer cells and lymphocytes increase in women with breast cancer following massage therapy.

Methods:

Women diagnosed with breast cancer received massage therapy or practiced progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) for 30-minute sessions three times a week for 5-weeks or received standard treatment. The massage therapy and relaxation groups reported less depressed mood, anxiety and pain immediately after their first and last sessions. By the end of the study, however, only the massage therapy group reported being less depressed and less angry and having more vigor. Dopamine levels, Natural Killer cells and lymphocytes also increased from the first to the last day of the study for the massage therapy group. 

 Hernandez-Reif, M., Field, T., Ironson, G., Beutler, J., Vera, Y., Hurley, J., Fletcher, M., Schanberg, S., Kuhn, C., & Fraser, M. (2005). Natural killer cells and lymphocytes increase in women with breast cancer following massage therapy. International Journal of Neuroscience, 115, 495-510