Intro and Background
Definitions for prayer and spirituality can differ widely. Generally, prayer can be defined as an address (as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought (1), whereas spirituality can be defined as the quality of being concerned with deep, often religious, feelings and beliefs, rather than with the physical parts of life. (2) There are other reasons researchers believe prayer and spirituality may be effective other than physical intervention by a God. Some researchers suspect that religiousness may help the patient accept their situation and find a meaning for their pain. (3)(4) Also, the support of a religious community may help reduce stress (and thereby boost the immune system (5)) and gain information about the best course of action. (6) The efficacy of prayer and spirituality against disease and death has led researchers to investigate patients issues such as 'meaning', 'hope', and 'spirituality'. (7)
Scientific Research
The majority of research pertaining to spirituality is focused on quality of life and not necessarily survival time or recovery rate. One study has recently found that cancer patients who reported a higher level of spiritual well-being also reported a higher quality of life. (8)(9)(10) Prayer, on the other hand has been relatively widely studied in the context of general illness and surgery but not specifically cancer. Most of these studies involve intercessory prayer, which employs other people to pray for patients. The evidence for prayer as a way to improve patient health is quite contradictory. Some studies show prayer can improve health conditions (11)(12)(13) and increase survival (14) rates. Alternatively, recent studies have shown no correlation between prayer and health improvement exists. (6)(15)(16) The problem with much of the research is how the study defines benefit to the patient. They do not all coincide and so research is not only nonuniform in procedure but contradictory in their findings. More research is necessary to determine if prayer is truly beneficial to patients.
There are currently three studies being conducted by the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the Albert Einstein college of Medicine, and the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance that regard spirituality and its influence on cancer. No trials investigating the power of prayer against cancer are currently underway. (17) For information about ongoing clinical trials involving prayer and spirituality, please visit our section on Finding Clinical Trials.
US Food and Administration Approval
There is not enough evidence to support that prayer or spirituality is effective in the fight against cancer and it has not been approved by the FDA for cancer treatment.
Roberts L, Ahemd L, Hall S. Intercessory prayer for the alleviation of ill health. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 24;(1): CD000368. Review. PMID: 17253449 [PUBMED]
Koenig HG, George LK, Peterson BL . Religiosity and remission of depression in medically ill older patients. Am J Psychiatry (1998) 155: 536-542 [PUBMED]
Luecken LJ, Compas BE. Stress, coping, and immune function in breast cancer. Ann Behav Med. 2002 Fall;24(4):336-44 [PUBMED]
Benson H, Dusek JA, et al. Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: a multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer. Am Heart J. (2006) 151(4): 934-42. [PUBMED]
Breitbart W. Spirituality and meaning in supportive care: spirituality- and meaning-centered group psychotherapy interventions in advanced cancer. Support Care Cancer. 2002 10(4): 272-80. [PUBMED]
Ambs AH, Miller MF, Smith AW, Goldstein MS, Hsiao AF, Ballard-Barbash R. Religious and Spiritual Practices and Identification among Individuals Living with Cancer and Other Chronic Disease. J Soc Integr Oncol. (2007) 5(2): 53-60. [PUBMED]
Balboni TA, Vanderwerker LC, Block SD, Paulk ME, Lathan CS, Peteet JR, Prigerson HG. Religiousness and spiritual support among advanced cancer patients and associations with end-of-life treatment references and quality of life. J Clin Oncol. (2007) 25(5): 555-60 [PUBMED]
Tarakeshwar N, Vabderwerker LC, Paulk E, Pearce MJ, Stanislav VK, Prigerson, HG. Religious coping is associated with the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer. Journal of Palliative Medicine. (2006) 9 (3): 646-57 [PUBMED]
Harris WS, Gowda M, Kolb JW, et al. A randomized, controlled trial of the effects of remote intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients to the coronary care unit. Arch Intern Med. (1999) 159:2273-8. [PUBMED]
Byrd RC. Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population. SouthernMedical Journal. (1988) 81: 826 [PUBMED]
Black SL. Effect of retroactive intercessory prayer. Outco me of this experiment offers little comfort. BMJ. (2002) 324(7344): 1038 [PUBMED]
Aviles JM, Whelan E,Hernke DA,Williams BA, Kenny KE, O'Fallon M, Kopecky SL. Intercessory Prayer and Cardiovascular Disease Progression in a Coronary Care Unit Population: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Mayo Clinical Proceedings (2001) 76:1192-8 [PUBMED]
Harris WS, Gowda M, Kolb JW, Strychacz CP, Vacek JL, Jones PG, Forker A, O'Keefe JH, McCallister BD. A randomized, controlled trial of the effects of remote, intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients admitted to the coronary care unit. Arch Intern Med. (1999) 159(19): 2273-8. [PUBMED]
Krucoff MW, Crater SW, Green CL, Maas AC, Seskevich JE, Lane JD, Loeffler KA, Morris K, Bashore TM, Koenig HG. Integrative noetic therapies as adjuncts to percutaneous intervention during unstable coronary syndromes: Monitoring and Actualization of Noetic Training (MANTRA) feasibility pilot. Am Heart J. (2001) 142(5): 760-9. [PUBMED]
National Library of Medicine. (2007). ClinicalTrials.gov Retrieved June 6, 2007 from the National Institutes of Health. Web Site: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/search;jsessionid=CD4F0FE5E795081F217CEE924523B4DC?term=spirituality
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