Effect of exercise therapy on cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the efficacy of different exercise therapies in reducing fatigue in patients with breast cancer. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, CBM, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang databases were searched from their inception to March 2022. The authors independently screened all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of exercise therapy in patients with breast cancer. A network meta-analysis was performed using Stata 16.0 software. Seventy-eight studies were analyzed, with 167 comparisons and 6235 patients. The network results showed that stretching (SMD = -0.74, CI: -1.43, -0.06), yoga (SMD = -0.49, CI: -0.75, -0.22), combined exercise (SMD = -0.47, CI: -0.70, -0.24), aerobic exercise (SMD = -0.46, CI: -0.66, -0.26), and resistance exercise (SMD = -0.42, CI: -0.77, -0.08) significantly reduced fatigue. Pairwise comparisons confirmed that yoga, combined exercise, aerobic exercise, and resistance exercise were positively associated with fatigue relief. However, no significant association was identified between reduced fatigue and traditional Chinese exercises or stretching. The most effective exercise therapy to relieve cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer was yoga, followed by combined aerobic and resistance exercises. It is expected that more RCTs will be conducted to further explore the efficacy and mechanisms of exercise.