Abstract
Globally, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, posing a serious threat to women’s health. We investigated the different types of exercise( aerobic exercise (AE), resistance exercise (RE), and combined aerobic and resistance exercise (CO)) to increase the quality of life (QoL) in breast cancer patients. Meta-analysis was used to estimate the effect sizes, and subgroup analyses were conducted based on types of exercise. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration tool, and funnel plots were employed to evaluate publication bias. The inclusion criteria were met by 28 studies (31 trials), comprising 2038 patients for exercise (n = 1039) and control (n = 999). Meta-analysis showed exercise intervention enhanced QoL (0.44; 95% CI: 0.26–0.62) in patients with breast cancer. Subgroup analysis revealed improved QoL was greater with exercise intervention after adjuvant treatment (0.84; 95% CI: 0.46–1.21) than during adjuvant treatment (0.15; 95% CI: −0.01–0.30). CO (0.97; 95% CI: 0.33–1.61) was better than AE (0.42; 95% CI: 0.17–0.67) and RE (0.13; 95% CI: −0.05–0.31) in increasing QoL in patients. Values between subgroups were statistically significant for both timing of exercise (p = 0.0009) and type of exercise (p = 0.01). In conclusion, exercise intervention has a positive impact on the QoL of breast cancer patients. The enhancement in QoL was more pronounced in patients who exercised after adjuvant breast cancer treatment than during treatment. The most appropriate type of exercise to improve QoL is probably combined with AE and RE.
Highlights
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, posing a serious threat to women’s health
The treatment of cancer produces a series of side effects, which seriously affect the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patients [3,4]
A meta-analysis of 25 RCTs found that a single type of exercise intervention, such as aerobic, yoga, or qigong, is more conducive to improving the QoL of breast cancer patients than combined aerobic resistance exercise [7]
Summary
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, posing a serious threat to women’s health. Previous studies have shown that exercise intervention can change patients’ body composition, enhance muscle strength, regulate mood, and increase QoL [5,6]. It is not clear which type of exercise is better for increasing the QoL of breast cancer patients. A meta-analysis of 25 RCTs found that a single type of exercise intervention, such as aerobic, yoga, or qigong, is more conducive to improving the QoL of breast cancer patients than combined aerobic resistance exercise [7]. The main purpose of this systematic review and meta analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of the different types of exercise intervention on the QoL of breast cancer patients
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
