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<h5 class="section-title" id="d7237334e156">Background</h5>
<p id="P2">Evidence supports the benefits of exercise for cancer patients, however,
specific
guidance for clinical decision making regarding exercise timing, frequency, duration
and intensity is lacking. Efforts are needed to optimize clinical recommendations
for exercise in the cancer population.
</p>
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<h5 class="section-title" id="d7237334e161">Objectives</h5>
<p id="P3">To aggregate information regarding the benefit of exercise through a systematic
review
of existing systematic reviews in the cancer exercise literature.
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<h5 class="section-title" id="d7237334e166">Data Sources</h5>
<p id="P4">PubMed, CINAHL Plus, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE.</p>
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<h5 class="section-title" id="d7237334e171">Study Eligibility Criteria</h5>
<p id="P5">Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the impact of movement-based exercise
on the
adult cancer population.
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<h5 class="section-title" id="d7237334e176">Methods</h5>
<p id="P6">Two author teams reviewed 302 abstracts for inclusion with 93 selected
for full text
review. 53 studies were analyzed. A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews
(AMSTAR©) was used as a quality measure of the reviews. Information was extracted
using the PICO format (
<i>participants, intervention, comparison, outcomes).</i> Descriptive findings are
reported.
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<h5 class="section-title" id="d7237334e184">Results</h5>
<p id="P7">Mean AMSTAR© score = 7.66 / 11 (±2.04) suggests moderate quality of the
systematic
reviews. Exercise is beneficial before, during, and after cancer treatment, across
all cancer types, and for a variety of cancer-related impairments. Moderate to vigorous
exercise is the best level of exercise intensity to improve physical function and
mitigate cancer-related impairments. Therapeutic exercises are beneficial to manage
treatment side effects, may enhance tolerance to cancer treatments, and improve functional
outcomes. Supervised exercise yielded superior benefits versus unsupervised. Serious
adverse events were not common.
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<h5 class="section-title" id="d7237334e189">Limitations</h5>
<p id="P8">Movement-based exercise intervention outcomes are reported. No analysis
of pooled
effects was calculated across reviews due to significant heterogeneity within the
systematic reviews. Findings do not consider exercise in advanced cancers or pediatric
populations.
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<h5 class="section-title" id="d7237334e194">Conclusions</h5>
<p id="P9">Exercise promotes significant improvements in clinical, functional, and
in some populations,
survival outcomes and can be recommended regardless of the type of cancer. Although
generally safe, patients should be screened and appropriate precautions taken. Efforts
to strengthen uniformity in clinical trial reporting, develop clinical practice guidelines,
and integrate exercise and rehabilitation services into the cancer delivery system
are needed.
</p>
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