The following is a summary of “Effect of exercise-based cancer rehabilitation via telehealth: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the May 2024 issue of Oncology by Batalik et al.
Exercise-based cancer rehabilitation delivered via telehealth presents a promising avenue for cancer survivors, offering a viable alternative to traditional center-based programs, yet comprehensive data in this domain remains limited. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the impact of telehealth-based exercise interventions on various outcomes among cancer survivors, including cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity levels, muscle strength, health-related quality of life, and self-reported symptoms.
A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, and relevant article references up to March 2023 was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials comparing telehealth-based exercise cancer rehabilitation with guideline-based usual care in adult cancer survivors. The primary outcome measure was cardiorespiratory fitness, assessed by peak oxygen consumption.
From an initial pool, ten randomized controlled trials comprising a total of 1510 participants, predominantly female (85%) with a mean age of 52.7 years, were included in the meta-analysis. Synthesis of data revealed that telehealth exercise interventions significantly enhanced cardiorespiratory fitness (SMD = 0.34, 95% CI 0.20–0.49, I2 = 42%, p < 0.001) and increased physical activity levels (SMD = 0.34, 95% CI 0.17–0.51, I2 = 71%, p < 0.001). However, the impact on health-related quality of life (SMD = 0.23, 95% CI -0.07–0.52, I2 = 67%, p = 0.14), body mass index (MD = 0.46, 95% CI -1.19–2.12, I2 = 60%, p = 0.58), and muscle strength (SMD = 0.07, 95% CI -0.14–0.28, I2 = 37%, p = 0.51) remained uncertain.
This meta-analysis underscores the positive effects of telehealth-based exercise cancer rehabilitation on enhancing cardiorespiratory fitness and increasing physical activity levels while potentially mitigating fatigue among cancer survivors. However, the evidence concerning improvements in health-related quality of life and muscle strength is inconclusive, emphasizing the need for robust, high-quality studies to explore tailored home-based exercise protocols across diverse cancer subgroups, thereby enhancing the certainty of these findings and optimizing clinical outcomes in cancer rehabilitation practices.
Source: bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-024-12348-w
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