Virtual reality may help patients with cancer experience less pain and anxiety in the short term, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal Healthcare and Rehabilitation. The analysis pooled data from randomized controlled trials to assess whether immersive VR interventions could serve as a supportive tool alongside established cancer care.
Cancer-related pain and anxiety are common, distressing, and often difficult to manage. “Pain may make cancer treatment more challenging, while anxiety can make procedures and symptoms feel more overwhelming,” explains lead author Jiaojaio Zhang, a doctoral candidate at the School of Nursing, Fudan University. “VR can offer an immersive environment that may help patients shift attention away from pain or fear during treatment and care.”
The research team searched nine databases and identified 13 randomized controlled trials involving a total of 969 patients from eight countries. Across the included studies, participants were randomly assigned to receive VR-based interventions or control conditions, allowing the reviewers to estimate the overall effect of VR on cancer-related symptoms.
The meta-analysis found that VR was associated with reduced pain compared with control conditions across 12 studies, and it was also associated with reduced anxiety in seven studies. These effects were described as short-term, meaning the analysis does not establish whether any benefit persists beyond the immediate period of use.
The findings suggest that VR may be particularly useful during medical procedures and among pediatric patients, where the effects were more consistent. This pattern hints that immersive distraction could be most valuable in settings where patients face brief but distressing interventions, although the review did not test specific clinical protocols.
The researchers cautioned that the current evidence is not definitive. Many of the included studies had methodological limitations, the VR interventions varied widely in content and delivery, and adverse events were not reported consistently across trials. The certainty of the evidence was therefore judged to be low, and the substantial variation between studies makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about which approaches work best.
“Larger and better-designed trials are needed to understand which patients benefit most, how VR should be delivered, and how safe and acceptable it is in routine care,” Zhang says. Until such trials are completed, the review’s authors emphasize that the results should be interpreted as preliminary rather than as a basis for routine implementation.
The researchers concluded that VR should be considered a supportive strategy rather than a replacement for established pain and anxiety management in cancer care. In other words, immersive technology may complement, but not substitute for, conventional pharmacological and psychological approaches to symptom control.
Looking ahead, the team outlined priorities for future research. “Future studies should test standardized VR protocols, monitor adverse events, compare VR with other active distraction methods, and investigate how immersive experiences influence attention, emotion, and symptom perception,” Zhang adds. Such work would help clarify both the mechanisms behind any benefit and the practical questions of safety and acceptability in everyday clinical settings.
The review, titled “The effects of virtual reality on cancer-related pain and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials,” was published in Healthcare and Rehabilitation with DOI 10.1016/j.hcr.2026.100081. The authors declared no conflicts of interest, noting only that one co-author is an editorial board member of the journal but was not involved in its review or decisions related to the manuscript.
Subject of Research: The effects of virtual reality on cancer-related pain and anxiety in patients with cancer
Article Title: Virtual reality may ease short-term pain and anxiety in patients with cancer
Article References: Virtual reality may ease short-term pain and anxiety in patients with cancer. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: Not provided
Keywords: virtual reality, cancer pain, anxiety, systematic review, meta-analysis, randomized controlled trials, pediatric oncology, supportive care, distraction techniques, Healthcare and Rehabilitation, Fudan University, patient care
News Source: Nathaniel Bowman. (October 28, 2026). Virtual reality may ease short-term pain and anxiety in patients with cancer, review finds. Scienmag.
