Zou, L.Y., Yang, L., He, X.L., Sun, M., & Xu, J.J. (2014). Effects of aerobic exercise on cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: A meta-analysis. Tumour Biology, 35, 5659–5667.

DOI Link

Purpose

STUDY PURPOSE: To derive a more precise estimation of the effects of aerobic exercise on cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy
 
TYPE OF STUDY: Meta-analysis

Search Strategy

DATABASES USED: PubMed, CISCOM, CINAHL, the Web of Science, Google Scholar, EBSCO, Cochrane Library, and CBM databases
 
KEYWORDS: [“cancer-related fatigue” or “CRF” or “chemotherapy- related fatigue” or “treatment-related fatigue”], [“breast cancer” or “breast neoplasms” or “breast tumor” or “breast carcinoma” or “mammary cancer” or “mammary carcinoma”], and [“aerobic exercise” or “aerobic sports” or “aerobic training”]
 
INCLUSION CRITERIA: (a) The type of study should be a clinical comparative study, (b) the study must be focused on the relationship between the aerobic exercise and CRF in patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy, (c) all diagnoses of breast cancer should be confirmed by pathohistologic examinations, (d) fatigue scores should be capable of extraction, and (e) the publication should be in English or Chinese.
 
EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Any article that did not meet the above criteria

Literature Evaluated

TOTAL REFERENCES RETRIEVED: 126
 
EVALUATION METHOD AND COMMENTS ON LITERATURE USED: Two independent authors extracted data from eligible studies using a standardized form. Methodologic quality was independently assessed by two researchers according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) criteria. NOS scores of 6–8 were achieved in the selected studies (≥ 7 indicates good quality).

Sample Characteristics

  • FINAL NUMBER STUDIES INCLUDED = 12
  • TOTAL PATIENTS INCLUDED IN REVIEW = 1,014
  • SAMPLE RANGE ACROSS STUDIES: 15–201 patients
  • KEY SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS: Four studies were of Asian women, eight studies were of Caucasian women, and all patients were receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Phase of Care and Clinical Applications

PHASE OF CARE: Active

Results

The Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (RPFS) scores for patients with breast cancer were significantly lower in the intervention group than the control group. However, there was no significant difference in the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Treatment Fatigue (FACIT-F) scale scores between the intervention and control groups. A subgroup analysis by ethnicity indicated that there were significant differences in RPFS and FACIT-F scores between the intervention and control groups among Asian populations.

Conclusions

This study provided additional support for aerobic exercise as an intervention for CRF in women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer, especially Asian women. However, it did not help determine the frequency, intensity, or duration of aerobic exercise that is most beneficial for CRF.

Limitations

  • Relatively small sample sizes
  • Retrospective study, which may result in recall or selection bias
  • Lack of access to original data

Nursing Implications

Nurses can continue to recommend aerobic exercise for women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer. However, additional research is needed regarding the frequency, intensity, and duration of exercise.

Legacy ID

5313