The contribution of physical exercise to leukemia and lymphoma in children: a scoping review.

Abstract

Introduction: The overall contribution of physical exercise on the management of disabling consequences of leukemia and lymphoma in children is missing. The aim of this scoping review (ScoR) was to systematically collect, map and present the current research evidence concerning studies reporting data on physical exercise among children with leukemia and lymphoma.

Evidence acquisition: This ScoR was performed by adopting recommendations of the 2020 version of the "Joanna Briggs Institute Methodological Guidance", along with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews. PubMed, Scopus, and the Central (Cochrane) were searched up to December 2023. Original studies were included, and results were presented numerically and thematically.

Evidence synthesis: One hundred twelve articles were identified through the search; 14 studies met the inclusion criteria. Publications have increased over the years. Most of the studies were conducted in Western countries. 11 articles (79%) owned to primary research (seven RCTs, and four observational studies), and 3 studies (21%) were systematic reviews. The overall sample size was of 293 individuals. 1 study included a mixed population of leukemias and lymphomas, while the others included only children with leukemia. The features of physical exercise were well described, including details on duration of treatment, frequency of exercises sessions, and duration of sittings.

Conclusions: The studies indicated physical exercise as a contributor to the improvement of motor abilities and quality of life. More studies including outcome measures that assess disability are recommended. More evidence on the impact of physical exercise in children with lymphoma is needed.