TRANScriptional Pathways Of Surgical Pain Modulated by Music Therapy Exposure (TRANSPOSE)

People undergoing surgery for abdominal cancer often experience high levels of pain, stress, and anxiety. Managing these symptoms after surgery is difficult. People often require strong medications for pain relief and may have other comorbidities and anxiety that accompany surgery. Non-pharmacologic approaches, like music therapy (MT) are needed.

Music-assisted relaxation and imagery (MARI) combines live music with guided relaxation, breathing, and imagery. MARI can be personalized to people's preferences. MARI can also be recorded live so that a recording can be given to the participant to use afterward. In a prior study conducted by researchers, people who receiving palliative care reported a decrease in pain after experiencing MARI. In an additional study, MARI was found to more likely result in bigger decreases in pain when compared to traditional MT alone.

Even though there are several studies that support the efficacy of music interventions, like MARI and MT, for addressing pain after surgery, the biological mechanisms are not well understood. Recent advances in functional genomic science provide an opportunity to understand transcriptomic mechanisms. These approaches have been applied to mind-body therapies, recreational music making (RMM), and music listening. However, they have not yet been applied to MT.

A previous study showed that RMM led to a decrease in stress-induced immune response-related genetic markers in a group of healthy volunteers when compared to a control group. In a similar study, adults with cardiovascular disease also showed changes in their genetic markers when exposed to RMM.

However, to date no research has investigated the relationship between gene expression and pain in a medical population experiencing acute post-surgical pain. Given that people undergoing abdominal cancer surgery often experience severe pain, this population is well-suited for investigating the mechanisms by which MT influences acute pain.

Inclusion criteria

• Age 50 to 80
• Able to speak and understand English
• Scheduled to undergo a surgery meeting the following criteria: (1) traditional open surgery (not laparoscopic or robotic) via laparotomy (midline or subcostal incisions), (2) length of surgery >3 hours, and (3) curative-intent surgical resection of a cancer in the stomach, pancreas, bile ducts, liver, or peritoneal surfaces
• Participant reports pain intensity of 4/10 or above to study staff on day 1 post-surgery or any other day post-surgery through discharge

Exclusion criteria

• Significant visual impairment that has not been corrected
• Significant hearing impairment that has not been corrected
• Significant cognitive impairment that would prevent participant from participating in the study