Effects of exercise on psychosocial outcomes in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Abstract

SummaryHematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an intense treatment to cure patients from leukemia or lymphoma. Prior, during, and after the transplantation procedure patients experience considerable physical, psychological and psychosocial distress. In light of the increasing number of successfully treated patients the need is growing for evidence-based adjuvant therapy options, which reduce treatment-related side effects and enhance the rehabilitation process. Due to its multidimensional effectiveness physical exercise might be a suitable intervention to counteract with HSCT-related side-effects.Twenty-nine publications could be detected within a systematic literature search. The studies suggest that exercise training is an important therapeutic approach in the supportive care for HSCT patients. Significant benefits from the exercise interventions have been reported for physical performance and psychosocial parameter like quality of life (QoL), fatigue status and distress. Several other benefits, such as a more rapid immune recovery or alleviation of therapy- related side effects have been reported in some studies. Future studies should address existing methodological problems, identify further effect levels of physical exercise therapy and integrate a long-term perspective for the participants in the context of HSCT.