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The Impact of Religiousness and Spirituality on the Quality of Life of Patients With Cancer Cover

The Impact of Religiousness and Spirituality on the Quality of Life of Patients With Cancer

Open Access
|Jul 2026

Figures & Tables

Chart 1:

PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for new systematic reviews which included searches of databases and registers onlySource: Page MJ, et al. BMJ 2021; 372:n71. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n71.This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Findings of Systematic Review Studies_

RESEARCHERS AND YEARSAMPLE
CANCER TYPERESEARCH TOOLCONCLUSIONS
MF
Ferrell et al. (2020)211268Miscellaneous cancersFACIT-Sp12, Psychological Distress Scale, FACT-G QOLCancer patients have spiritual needs. Spiritual care should be provided to patients as a component of oncology and palliative care
Delgado-Guay et al. (2021)130195Gastrointestinal (23%), breast (13%), gynecological (12%), other (26%)FICA, ESAS-FS, PSWQ-A, CES-D, COPE & RCOPE, FACIT - Sp - ExSpirituality/religiosity is correlated with higher quality of life. These cancer patients need increased spiritual/religious support
Park et al. (2021)99105Lung (21.6%), stomach (11.3%), colorectal (18.6%), other (43.7%)FACIT-Sp12, EORTC QLQ-C15-PALSelf-reported spirituality and religiosity showed better convergence with the feeling of inner struggle
Cannon, Dokucu & Loberiza (2022)350201Leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma (51.36%), breast, colorectal, prostate (36.47%), other (12.15%)SF 12 Health SurveySpirituality is important for improving both pQOL and mQOL of cancer survivors, while religiosity may have some impact on pQOL
Majda et al. (2022)4556Urogenital (54%), digestive (46%)DSES, EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-FA12Spirituality and religiosity positively influenced quality of life in areas such as physical, emotional, and social functioning
Tsoho & Soylar (2024)091BreastEORTC QLQ-C30, FACIT-Sp12The level of quality of life and spiritual well-being of breast cancer patients was found to be poor. It is necessary to meet the needs of breast cancer patients with more psychospiritual interventions
Chen et al. (2021)0705GynecologicalEORTC QLQ-SWB32, EORTC QLQ-C30, Hospital Anxiety & Depression ScaleSpiritual well-being is associated with lower anxiety and depression and better quality of life. Healthcare providers should provide spiritual care with psychological counseling
Lebowa et al. (2023)4043MultipleQLQ-C30, Centrality of Religiosity Scale by S. Huber, Emotions-toward-God Scale by S. Huber, Bartczuk.24, R-cope, The Religious Comfort and Strain Scale by J. Exline, Changing of Beliefs and Goals in the Illness Scale by D. KrokHigh importance of spirituality and religiosity for patients' health-related quality of life
Yilmaz & Cengiz (2020)5861MyelomaFACIT-Sp12, v. 4, FACT-G, v. 4Spirituality and religiosity contributed positively to the quality of life of cancer survivors
Brandão et al. (2021) 108Gastrointestinal (69.3%), breast (30.7%)EORTC-QLQ-C30 WHOQOL-SRPBPositive association of spirituality/religiosity with quality of life in women with breast cancer
Nazam & Husain (2024)137163BreastHerth Hope Index, Meaning in Life Scale, Religious Spiritual Struggle Scale, and WHO-QOL-BRIEFAddressing religious and spiritual concerns is critical to improving the overall quality of life of cancer patients
Narayanan et al. (2020)8949Gallbladder, (20.7%), breast, (11.7%), other (67.6%)Ironson–Woods Spirituality/Religiousness (SR), MDASI, BSIReligious engagement is common among cancer patients and is rarely associated with psychological distress
Damen et al. (2021)144187Kidney (100%)ESAS, PDI, QUAL-E, RSS-14Spiritual/religious conflict may compromise the well-being of cancer patients receiving palliative care
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fco-2024-0027 | Journal eISSN: 1792-362X | Journal ISSN: 1792-345X
Language: English
Submitted on: Apr 7, 2025
Accepted on: Jun 26, 2025
Published on: Jul 8, 2026
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

© 2026 Vasilaki Christina, Tsoukalas Nicolaos, Margari Nikoletta, Adamakidou Theodoula, Dokoutsidou Eleni, published by Helenic Society of Medical Oncology
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

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