Abstract: Objective To explore the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy plus hypnosis to reduce cancer-related fatigue(CRF)in gastric cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Methods A total of 60 gastric cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy were randomly assigned to 2 groups: observation group(n=30)and control group(n=30). All patients adopted FOLFOX4 chemotherapy scheme. On day 1 of the treatment, the observation group underwent cognitive-behavioral therapy plus hypnosis, while the control group was provided with routine health education. The intervention was performed once a day, twice in each chemotherapy cycle. The score of FACIT-F, levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 were measured at baseline, 5 days and 2 months after chemotherapy. Results There were no differences between the 2 groups in fatigue and FACIT-F score before chemotherapy(P>0.05). After chemotherapy, the FACIT-F scores of both groups decreased, and the control group had larger margin of decrease(P<0.01); the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in both groups increased, and the control group had a larger margin of increase(P<0.05). Two months after chemotherapy, the observation group had higher FACIT-F score and higher levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 than the control group(P<0.01). Conclusion Cognitive-behavioral therapy plus hypnosis is able to reduce TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 levels, and control fatigue in patients undergoing chemotherapy for gastric cancer. Therefore, it may serve as a promising auxiliary treatment for chemotherapy.

Key words: Chemotherapy, Gastric cancer, Cancer-related fatigue, Cognitive-behavioral therapy plus hypnosis