Cancer Management via M-Health: A Systematic Review

Background: Cancer survival rates vary greatly across countries and the burden of disease in low and middle income countries is growing rapidly. These countries now account for 80% of the disability-adjusted life-years lost worldwide to cancer yet are estimated to receive only 5% of global resources for cancer. In this way, mobile technologies are a means for providing individual level support to health care consumers. M-health interventions have been designed to increase healthy behavior or improve disease management. Objectives: This study sought to understand the most common uses and functions of M-Health in monitoring and managing cancer. Materials/Patients and Methods: We identified peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2016. Ten articles were analyzed for this systematic literature review at last level. Systematic literature searches were performed using Science Citation Index Expanded, PubMed, and Google Scholar was searched. Search terms included various combinations of the terms cancer, mobile phone, m-health. mhealth, mobile apps and mobile application. Results: From the 64 abstracts retrieved, 10 articles were selected for full text review. The majority of studies examined the use of mobile phones in survival care. Studies were related to pain management in cancer, symptom management of patients receiving oral chemotherapy treatment, personal health information, oral cancer surveillance, breast cancer survival, skin cancer, and physical activity among older cancer survivors. Conclusion: Evidence suggests that a comprehensive approach to cancer control and prevention will reduce the burden of the disease. Mobiles include as an enabler to improve awareness, facilitate access to timely screening, and ensure proper patient follow-up, overcoming some of the commonest barriers to cancer control. Policy-makers, cancer researchers and practitioners have an opportunity to leverage the experiences of m-Health in cancer.