Researchers have observed a possible link between watching Disney movies during chemotherapy and improvements in quality of life (QoL) in patients with gynecologic cancer (JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3[5]:e204568).

“In addition to treatment efficacy, evaluation of adverse effects and [QoL] assessments have become increasingly relevant in oncology,” said Sophie Pils, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria, and colleagues, who sought to assess the link between emotional, social functioning, fatigue status and watching Disney films during receipt of chemotherapy.

Between December 2017 and December 2018, a total of 50 patients with gynecologic cancers who planned to receive 6 cycles of chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel or carboplatin and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin were enrolled in the Austria-based study.

These patients were randomized into 1 of 2 trial groups, the Disney group, which watched Disney movies during 6 cycles of chemotherapy (n = 25; mean age, 59 years), and the control group, which did not (n = 25; mean age, 62 years).

The main end points were changes in QoL as determined by responses to the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer standardized questionnaires administered before and after every cycle. These data were analyzed from February 2019 to April 2019.

Ultimately, patients in the Disney group felt less tense and worried less during 6 months of chemotherapy than patients in the control group based on their responses to the questions about emotional functioning (mean score, 86.9 vs 66.3; maximum test P = .02).

In addition, the social functioning questions showed that Disney movies encroached less on patients' family life and social activities (mean score, 86.1 vs 63.6; maximum test P = .01), and led to fewer fatigue symptoms (mean score, 85.5 vs 66.4; maximum test P = .01).

“These findings suggest that watching Disney movies during chemotherapy may be associated with improvements in emotional functioning, social functioning, and fatigue status in patients with gynecologic cancers,” Dr Pils and colleagues concluded.—Hina M. Porcelli