The quality of evidence is downgraded by study limitations (unclear allocation concealment and lack of blinding).
A Cochrane review [Abstract]1 included 21 studies with a total of 2 221 subjects with diverse types of cancers. Resistance training during anticancer therapy:Resistance training had a beneficial effect compared with no training on short-term cancer-related fatigue (CRF, MD on Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Fatigue scale (FACIT-Fatigue) 3.90, 95% CI 1.30 to 6.51; scale from 0 to 52, minimal important difference (MID) 3; 12 studies, n=1 120). No differences on medium-term CRF (1 study, n=47) and long-term CRF (1 study, n=133) were observed. Resistance training after anticancer therapy:There was no difference in resistance training compared with no training on short-term CRF (MD on Chalder Fatigue Scale −0.27, 95% CI −2.11 to 1.57; scale from 0 to 33, MID 2.3; 3 studies, n=174).None of the studies reported data on medium-, or long-term effects.
Another Cochrane review [Abstract] 2 included 56 studies with a total of 4 068 subjects. The majority of participants had breast cancer (28 studies). 19 studies investigated home based/unsupervised exercise programmes whereas 37 studies investigated supervised, institutional based exercise programmes. The intervention period varied greatly between studies with a range from 3 weeks to one year. At the end of the intervention period exercise was statistically more effective than the control intervention (SMD -0.27, 95% CI -0.37 to -0.17; 38 studies, n=2 648). Benefits of exercise on fatigue were observed for interventions delivered during or post-adjuvant cancer therapy. Benefits of exercise were identified for breast and prostate cancer but not for haematological malignancies. Aerobic exercise reduced fatigue but resistance training and alternative forms of exercise failed to reach significance.
Comment:
Primary/Secondary Keywords