Does Exercise Improve Health-Related Quality of Life of Colorectal Cancer Survivors? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Document Type : Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Authors

1 Department of Public Health Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Jalan Hospital, 47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia.

2 Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Jalan Hospital, 47000 Sungai Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia.

3 Department of Surgery, Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

4 Department of Surgery Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Selangor, Malaysia.

5 Physiotherapy Unit, Department of Medical Rehabilitation Services, Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract

Introduction: Early diagnostic and treatment advances have resulted in prolonged cancer survivorship. Therefore, exercise intervention in survivorship management is essential for enhancing cancer survivors’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Objective: The systematic review and meta-analysis in this study aimed to explore the effect of exercise intervention on health-related quality of life of colorectal cancer survivors. Methods: The current study followed guidelines outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 (PRISMA 2020) to identify relevant literature. Comprehensive searches were conducted using EBSCOhost, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, Science Direct, and PubMed. The inclusion criteria included are randomised control trials studies written in English, with no restrictions for the time of publication that reported the effects of exercise intervention on health-related quality of live among colorectal cancer survivors. Meta-analysis was conducted by pooling the mean and standard deviation of post-intervention scores across randomised control trial studies using a random effects model. Result: A total of 467 articles were identified but only seven articles were randomised control trials (RCT) (n = 7) with PEDro scores ranging from 6 to 9 showing good internal validity were included in the review. The results of the meta-analysis of pooled data from six RCTs studies on HRQoL showed no significant effect of exercise intervention on HRQoL in the intervention group compared to control group [SMD = 0.25; 95% CI; –0.0, 0.51; Z = 1.88; p = 0.06; I2 = 30.8%]. Conclusion: This meta-analysis provides key insights into the effect of exercise on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors. Therefore, more experimental studies should be carried out with rigorous methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise interventions before it is recommended as a routine activity in post-treatment management for CRC survivors.

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