Exercise medicine for individuals diagnosed with Lung Cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of health outcomes

Abstract

Consensus exists regarding the need to provide exercise interventions to individuals diagnosed with lung cancer (LC). Exercise interventions for this populations usually include multidisciplinary approaches, making the attempt to understand the effects of exercise a real challenge. Therefore, we designed a systematic review to identify the effects of exercise interventions among individuals with a LC diagnosis.

Following the PRISMA guidelines, studies across 5 different databases were systematically screened. Eligible studies were randomised and non-randomised trials, including individuals with a LC diagnosis, administering exercise-only interventions. Three-level meta-analyses were performed for cardiorespiratory fitness, strength, physical function, anxiety, depression, and health-related quality of life. Differences between exercise types were also explored. The Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB) II tool for randomised controlled trials and the RoB in non-randomised studies − of interventions were used to assess study quality.

A total of 36,304 records were screened and 13 studies, including 547 LC survivors, were considered eligible. Randomised and non-randomised trials were mainly judged as “some concern” and at “serious” RoB, respectively. Meta-analyses reported significant improvements on physical function among exercise groups compared to control (ES = 0.62; 95 % CI: 0.10 to 1.15; p = 0.03), and no significant changes for all other variables.

There is moderate evidence that exercise interventions appear to be an effective tool to improve physical function among individuals diagnosed with LC. Further studies are still needed to determine exercise prescription effectiveness on health outcomes, differences across exercise types and enhance individualized interventions.