Comparison of Two Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapies and Acupuncture on the Pain and Depression Index in a Case with Lobular Carcinoma: A Single Case Experimental Study

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer is considered to be the most common diagnosis of cancer in the world. Psychological distresses help to increase the mortality rate in breast cancer and psychotherapy plays an important role in managing syndromes. On the other hand, the effectiveness of acupuncture on psychological indices in patients with breast cancer has a research support. So far, no study has been done to compare the two approaches in patients with breast cancer. Case Presentation: in a single-case experimental design in the form of ABCABC design with multiple baselines with follow-up of 6 months (TCTR20180605001), during January to October 2015, a 37-year-old woman with infiltrating lobular carcinoma (ILC) with metastasis invasion of axillary lymph nodes with dysthymic syndromes, was selected through targeted sampling, and after twenty-one days of evaluation (A1), she was treated for three weeks with auricular acupuncture (B1). After six months, the second phase of the assessment in the form of baseline of second intervention was performed for three weeks (A2) and then three weeks mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) (B2) was performed. Phase C1 was performed as follow-up acupuncture and six months after mindfulness cognitive therapy follow-up (C2) was done. Pain index was considered as the primary outcome and depression index as secondary outcome and the results were evaluated through the control of the trend of the multiple baselines through visual analysis. Conclusions: Data analysis showed that acupuncture was associated with a reduction in pain in the patient (P 0.05). Also, the mindfulness significantly reduced the depression and pain index (all < 0.05). However, the effectiveness of these treatments was not maintained during the follow-up phase (all < 0.05). These findings can be useful in convergence of therapeutic models in order to formulate effective interventions strategies and to be considered as a link between psychological and biological approaches.