A pilot study of improved psychological distress with art therapy in patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

Art therapy improved the emotional distress, depression, anxiety and pain among all cancer patients, at all time points. While depression scores were higher pre-intervention for Hispanic patients, Hispanic patients were noted to derive a greater improvement in depression scores from art therapy over time, compared to non-Hispanics patients. Discovering simple, effective, therapeutic interventions, to aid in distress relief in cancer patients, is important for ensuring clinical efficacy of treatment and improved quality of life.