For cancer survivors experiencing overall mood disturbance, anxiety, fatigue, or insomnia, regular gentle hatha and restorative yoga can help improve these side effects without the need for medication.

The research will be presented at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, taking place May 29 to June 2 in Chicago. 

“There is no single gold standard behavioural treatment available to survivors for treating overall mood disturbance, anxiety, fatigue, and insomnia. By demonstrating that YOCAS intervention improves all four of these cancer-related side effects and showing how improvements in overall mood disturbance, anxiety, and fatigue influence yoga’s effect on insomnia, this trial helps to fill that gap,” said lead study author Yuri Choi, PhD, MSN, RN, a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Yoga for Cancer Survivors (YOCAS) is a 4-week intervention that uses 18 gentle hatha and restorative yoga poses, breathing exercises, and mindfulness to improve symptoms in cancer survivors.

The intervention includes two 75-minute instructor-led yoga classes and additional home-based yoga practice for at least 30 minutes or more per week. Both hatha and restorative yoga focus on slow, gentle movements and still postures using props.

They also both integrate breathing and mindfulness techniques.

Patients included in the study did not have metastatic disease and had not participated in yoga within the past 3 months.

The average age of participants was 54, and nearly all were White women.

Three out of every 4 participants were breast cancer survivors. 

A total of 204 participants were randomly assigned to receive standard survivorship care, which typically includes maintenance therapy, follow-up visits, and monitoring for side effects.

A total of 206 participants received standard survivorship care plus the YOCAS intervention.

The participants in the YOCAS group practised gentle hatha and restorative yoga at low to moderate intensity for an average of at least 3 times per week, for an average of 180 minutes per week.

Participants’ mood disturbance was assessed using the self-administered Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire.

Insomnia was evaluated using the Insomnia Severity Index, which asks patients questions about their sleep.

Key findings

Compared to the standard care participants, the YOCAS participants experienced:

• Meaningfully less overall mood disturbance, reflected by a 5.08-point lower POMS total score, corresponding to a moderate-to-large effect of yoga.
• Less anxiety, reflected by a 0.72-point lower score on the POMS anxiety subscale, corresponding to a small-to-medium effect of yoga.
• Less fatigue, reflected by a 1.49-point lower score on the POMS fatigue subscale, corresponding to a medium-to-large effect of yoga.

The researchers found that the improvements in overall mood experienced by the participants in the YOCAS group accounted for approximately 25% of the improvements seen in their sleep.

The researchers found similar results for fatigue, where improvements experienced by the participants in the YOCAS group accounted for approximately 25% of the improvements seen in their sleep. 

“GLP-1 receptor agonists have never been just glucose-lowering drugs. Their anti-inflammatory and immune-modulatory properties have long suggested broader effects. What's new here is the consistency across tumour types, and data this large and this consistent warrant a prospective randomised trial,” said Marcin Chwistek, MD, FAAHPM, Chief of Supportive Oncology and Palliative Care Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center and an ASCO Expert in supportive care.

The researchers plan to develop a yoga intervention for adolescent and young adult cancer survivors. They also plan to create digital versions of the YOCAS intervention, including an online platform and an app. 

This clinical trial was funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Source: ASCO