Table 1.
Characteristics of the included studies.
| References | Design | Comparison (N of patients) | Gender/Age | Diagnosis | Type of tumor | EMDR Treatment schedule | Psychometric tests | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capezzani et al. (2013) | RCT | EMDR (n = 11, follow-up stage; n = 10, active cancer treatment) CBT (n = 10, follow-up stage) | 28 female, 3 male/EMDR = mean age 53.40 (active treatment); mean age 50.82 (follow-up stage); CBT = mean age 52.70 | PTSD | Mixed cancer diagnosis | 8 weekly sessions | CAPS, IES-R, BDI-II, STAY-Y, QPF-R | Reduction of PTSD symptoms and PTSD diagnosis after EMDR interventon; EMDR>CBT. |
| Jarero et al. (2015) | Pre-post | EMDR (n = 17, active cancer treatment; n = 7, follow-up stage) | All female/mean age 54.16 | PTSD | Mixed cancer diagnosis | 3 consecutive days, twice daily sessions | SPRINT | Reduction of PTSD after EMDR intervention, maintained over time. |
| Faretta et al. (2016) | Controlled | EMDR (n = 31, active cancer treatment and follow-up stage, not specified) CBT (n = 26, active treatment and follow-up stage, not specified) |
45 female, 12 male/EMDR = mean age 51.45; CBT = mean age 53.28 | Anxiety and depression disorder spectrum | Mixed cancer diagnosis | 12 sessions | SCL-90-R, COPE, DTS | Reduction of psychological symptoms after EMDR intervention; EMDR>CBT. |
| Szpringer et al. (2018) | Controlled | EMDR (n = 18, active cancer treatment) Control group (n = 19, active treatment) |
All female/ EMDR = mean age 63.00; Control group = mean age 65.50 | Anxiety and depression disorder spectrum | Glioblastoma multiforme | 10–12 sessions during 4 months | HADS, SOC-29 | Decrease in anxiety, depression and anger and improve of improve sense of coherence after EMDR intervention; EMDR>control group. |
| Borji et al. (2019) | RCT | EMDR (n = 30, active cancer treatment) Control group (n = 30, active cancer treatment) |
24 female, 36 male/ EMDR = mean age 70.03; Control group = mean age 68.33 | Not specified | Gastrointestinal cancer | 2 sessions at home's patient | PSS | Reduction of perceived stress after EMDR intervention |
| Carletto et al. (2019) | Controlled | EMDR (n = 15, active cancer treatment) Control group (n = 15, active cancer treatment) |
All female/ EMDR = mean age 55.47; Control group = mean age 48.40 | PTSD | Breast cancer | 10 sessions during 3-4 months | CAPS, IES-R, BDI-II, STAY-Y | Reduction of PTSD symptoms, PTSD diagnosis and depressive symptoms after EMDR intervention; EMDR>TAU. |
| Dinapoli et al. (2019) | Case study | EMDR (n = 1, active cancer treatment) | Male/73 years old | Intolerable anxiety | Head and neck cancer | 3 sessions during 2 weeks | HADS, VAS | Reduction of anxiety symptoms after EMDR intervention |
CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy; PTSD, posttraumatic stress disorder; QPF-R, psychophysiological questionnaire-brief version; STAI-Y, state-trait anxiety inventory; BDI-II, Beck depression inventory-II; IES-R, impact of event scale-revised; CAPS, clinician-administered PTSD Scale; SPRINT, short PTSD rating interview; SCL-90-R, symptom checklist-90-r; COPE, cope inventory; DTS, Davidson trauma scale; HADS, hospital anxiety and depression scale; SOC-29, sense of coherence scale; PSS, perceived stress scale; VAS, visual analog scale.