Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2019 Jan-Dec:18:1534735419895590.
doi: 10.1177/1534735419895590.

Effects of Exercise Intervention on Quality of Life in Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients and Survivors: A Meta-Analysis

Xiaoxu Zhi  1 , Man Xie  2 , Yingchun Zeng  3 , Jun-E Liu  4 , Andy S K Cheng  5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effects of Exercise Intervention on Quality of Life in Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients and Survivors: A Meta-Analysis

Xiaoxu Zhi et al. Integr Cancer Ther. 2019 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Cancer and its treatment significantly impact the quality of life (QOL) of adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients. This meta-analysis examined the effects of exercise interventions on the generic and cancer-specific QOL of AYA cancer patients and survivors.

Methods: Four databases were searched from January 2010 to September 2019. RevMan 5.3 was used to synthesize the effects of exercise intervention on the QOL of AYA cancer patients and survivors.

Results: A total of 11 eligible studies have been included in this paper. Direct outcome comparisons found that pooled overall effects on generic QOL were in favor of exercise interventions, but only with marginal significance (Z= 1.96, P = 0.05). When performing the subscale analysis of the generic QOL, three trials assessed the effects of exercise interventions on the emotional domain of QOL, and the weighted mean difference (WMD) for the overall intervention effect was 3.47 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.42 to 6.51). Additionally, exercise interventions increased the minutes of physical activity per week undertaken by AYA cancer patients and survivors (Z= 2.88, P = 0.004).

Conclusion: Exercise interventions had positive effects on generic QOL and increased the minutes of physical activity per week undertaken by AYA cancer patients and survivors. In addition, exercise intervention programs appear to be safe, as there were no studies that reported adverse events. Future research, with rigorous methodological standards and larger sample sizes, should be designed to confirm the positive effects of exercise interventions on the QOL of AYA cancer patients and survivors.

Keywords: adolescent and young adults with cancer; exercise intervention; meta-analysis; quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flow diagram of study selection.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Risk of bias summary.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Generic quality of life (QOL) comparison between exercise intervention and controls at postintervention. Note. Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4.0 Generic Core scale consists of 4 scales: (1) physical functioning, (2) emotional functioning, (3) social functioning, and (4) school functioning. Physical, Social, Emotional, and School represent those 4 domains of QOL. Overall generic QOL means the average of scores of these 4 domains.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Cancer-specific quality of life comparison between exercise intervention and controls at postintervention.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Changes in the minutes of physical activity per week between exercise intervention and controls.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Funnel plot of comparison based on generic quality of life (QOL) outcome. Note. Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4.0 Generic Core scale consists of 4 scales: (1) physical functioning, (2) emotional functioning, (3) social functioning, and (4) school functioning. Physical, Social, Emotional, and School represent those 4 domains of QOL. Overall generic QOL means the average of scores of these 4 domains.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Liu L, Moke DJ, Tsai KY, et al. A reappraisal of sex-specific cancer survival trends among adolescents and young adults in the United States. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2019;111:509-518. doi:10.1093/jnci/djy140 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults in Australia. Cat. No. CAN 110. Canberra, Australia: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; 2018.
    1. Barr RD, Ferrari A, Ries L, Whelan J, Bleyer WA. Cancer in adolescents and young adults: a narrative review of the current status and a view of the future. JAMA Pediatr. 2016;170:495-501. - PubMed
    1. Munsie C, Ebert J, Joske D, Ackland T. The benefit of physical activity in adolescent and young adult cancer patients during and after treatment: a systematic review. J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. 2019;8:512-524. doi:10.1089/jayao.2019.0013 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bail JR, Demark-Wahnefried W. Vigorous physical activity and mental health-associations suggest a link among childhood cancer survivors. Cancer. 2019;125:2923-2925. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types