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The effect of melatonin on sleep quality and insomnia in patients with cancer: a systematic review study

Azar Jafari-Koulaee, M. Bagheri-Nesami

Sleep Medicine, 2021

28 citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Considering the importance of sleep in the treatment success and quality of life in patients with cancer, it is necessary to seek effective solutions to improve their sleep quality. In this regard, a comprehensive review of the effect of melatonin on sleep can be very useful to provide an evidence-based clinical guide. Therefore, the aim of the present systematic review was to investigate effect of melatonin on sleep quality and insomnia in patients with cancer.

METHODS

The present systematic review was conducted in 2021. To find evidence related to the study objective, Iranian databases (SID, Magiran) and international databases (Google scholar, Web of Science, ProQuest, Medline via PubMed, Scopus) were searched using specified keywords (Melatonin, Sleep, insomnia, Cancer, Neoplasms, Carcinomas, Tumor, Carcinomatosis, Carcinomatoses, Sarcomas) from the beginning of the establishment of the mentioned databases until 31st December of 2020. After primary and secondary screening, and selection of studies according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, information obtained from studies were extracted in a checklist with items such as author (year), study design, sample size, age, melatonin dose, duration of intervention, results, and conclusion.

RESULTS

From 295 articles found, finally six relevant studies entered the review process. The intervention used in the studies included oral melatonin administration. The minimum and maximum dose of melatonin was 3 mg and 20…

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