Applications of virtual reality technology throughout the perioperative period in breast cancer patients: a scoping review

Abstract

Objective This scoping review aimed to summarize the application status, implementation methods, and effects of virtual reality (VR) technology in the perioperative period of breast cancer patients, so as to provide references for future research and clinical practice. Methods In accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping review guidelines, we systematically retrieved and analyzed relevant studies regarding VR technology applications in the perioperative management of breast cancer patients. Literature was searched from database inception to May 25, 2026, across nine Chinese and English databases, including the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, VIP Chinese Periodical Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), as well as PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL. Results A total of 15 studies were included. VR technology was applied throughout the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative periods. Preoperative applications included immersive health education, operating room pre-adaptation, psychological adjustment, and surgical plan visualization. Intraoperative VR was used for attention diversion and pain relief. Postoperatively, VR mainly focused on upper limb rehabilitation training and optimizing patients’ rehabilitation experience. Conclusion Existing studies have reported that VR interventions may alleviate perioperative anxiety and pain and facilitate functional rehabilitation among breast cancer patients. However, current VR intervention protocols are homogeneous and lack unified clinical intervention and evaluation standards. Further studies are needed to develop personalized nursing intervention protocols and establish standardized evaluation systems, so as to improve the clinical translation value of VR technology.