Efficacy and safety evaluation of exercise intervention in improving rehabilitation outcomes for advanced lung cancer patients

INTRODUCTION: This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of exercise intervention in improving the rehabilitation outcomes of advanced lung cancer patients. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: According to PRISMA's statement, we searched the Web of Science, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases to collect randomized controlled trials on the efficacy and safety of exercise intervention in improving rehabilitation outcomes for lung cancer patients. These studies were established from the database until their publication in September 2024. A supplementary search was conducted on October 1, 2024. Perform statistical analysis using Review Manager 5.3. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: A total of 14 randomized controlled trials with 756 participants were included. The meta-analysis results showed that exercise intervention significantly improved quality of life (such as EORTC-QLQ-C30 scale MD=5.26, 95% CI: 2.41 to 8.11, P=0.0003; FACT-L scale MD-5.03, 95% CI: 0.51-9.55, P=0.03), fatigue (MD=-6.29, 95% CI: 9.94 to -2.65, P=0.0007), anxiety and depression (MD=-110, 95% CI: 1.67 to -0.54, P<0.0001; MD=1.96, 95% CI: 1.22 to 2.70, P<0.001), and exercise ability (MD=15.34, 95% CI: 4.07-26.61, P=0.008). However, exercise intervention did not improve dyspnea (MD=-0.86, 95% CI: -3.34~1.62, P=0.50 >0.05) in lung cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise intervention can significantly improve patients' quality of life, alleviate symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, and depression, enhance functional status and physical function. Therefore, it is recommended to include exercise intervention as part of the comprehensive treatment plan for cancer patients and further explore its best practices and potential mechanisms in future research.