Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Nonpharmacological Interventions for Lung Cancer Fatigue

Fatigue is one of the most common adverse effects of lung cancer, and the efficacy of nonpharmacological interventions on fatigue in lung cancer patients is still unclear. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of nonpharmacological interventions on lung cancer-induced fatigue. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed on studies retrieved from the PubMed, Embase Ovid, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science databases from inception to June 2020. A total of 18 of randomized controlled trials with three intervention categories were identified, comprising 1,446 patients. We observed that fatigue was significantly affected by physical therapies (standard mean difference [SMD] = –1.26, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: –2.05 to –0.47, p = .002), but not by exercise interventions (SMD = –0.52, 95% CI: –1.46 to 0.43, p = .29) or education and psychological interventions (SMD = –0.39, 95% CI: –0.92 to 0.14, p = .15). More research with robust methodology is needed to justify these findings.