Sahawneh, L.J.F. (2011). Effectiveness of therapeutic touch on pain management among patients with cancer -- literature review. Middle East Journal of Nursing, 5(4), 21–24.

To conduct a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic touch (TT) as a complementary or alternative means of managing the pain of patients with cancer

• Databases searched were PubMed, EBSCO, and Medscape.
• Search keywords were therapeutic touch, cancer pain, and pain management.
• Articles were included if they
  • Reflected observational or experimental studies or investigations involving TT as one option or as one of several complementary or alternative modalities to relieve the pain of any type of cancer
  • Reflected a study that included random assignment to placebo or control
  • Were abstracts published, in English only and between January 2000 and April 2010, in a peer-reviewed journal
• Studies were excluded if they involved TT as a treatment for pain unrelated to cancer.

• The total number of references retrieved was 46.
• Author used a systematic and qualitative evaluation method.
   

• The number of studies included in the analysis was 10. The list of references includes only nine studies, however.
• The total sample size and sample range across studies are uncited.
• Key sample characteristics are uncited.

TT is a therapy that may be useful in decreasing cancer-related pain and improve quality of life, but TT is often overlooked.

The systematic review was not thorough; reported findings were not comprehensive.