Background: During the last two decades, there have been spiritual/religious interventions in cancer patients to prevent or treat a range of physical problems, including managing chronic pain, coping with the disease, boosting hope and mental health. Although societies are of different faiths and belief systems, what they all share is spirituality.
Objectives: Upon this we put forward the hypothesis of changes in gene receptor expressions as a result of spiritual intervention for the first time in the world.
Materials and methods: In this study, the spiritual intervention was conducted on 57 volunteer females with early breast cancer involvement. Blood samples were collected prior to and after the spiritual intervention to analyze the changes in dopamine gene receptor expressions as the main site of effect. In order to administer the spiritual intervention backed by Quran, Islam and international standards, issues, with emphasis on peace, human growth and perfection, accepting God as an eternal source of power and kindness to build trust and reduce stress, were selected. They included prayer, patience, reliance, self-sacrifice and forgiveness, altruism and kindness, remission and repentance, thankfulness, zikr (mantra), meditation, and death concept.
Results: Obtained results from peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples analyzed by real time-PCR showed significant reduction in dopamine gene receptor (DRD1-5) expressions in comparison with those of pre-test scores and the control group.
Conclusions: Spiritual intervention based on Islamic principals can bring back mental health, increase hope and quality of life and eventually change dopamine gene receptor expressions resulting in reduction of cell proliferation, thus better prevention and management in breast cancer patients compared to other forms of treatment.
Keywords: Breast Cancer; Gene Expression; Islamic Perspective; Spiritual Intervention.