Exercise Interventions Proven to Benefit Patients with Gynecologic Cancer

A regular program of physical exercise improved fatigue, depression, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with gynecologic cancer, according to the results of a study published in Oncology Nursing Forum.

Investigators conducted a meta-review of existing research to explore the efficacy of physical exercise interventions in women with gynecologic cancer. They evaluated 12 randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) using a quantitative synthesis method to investigate the effects of exercise interventions in this patient population.

Nine studies measured fatigue as an outcome, reporting no significant effect on fatigue in the exercise interventions compared with control groups. Five studies measured cancer-related fatigue, but again, no significant improvement was reported in the intervention groups compared with the control groups. However, after 1 study was removed, the remaining studies indicated that small positive effects were noted with physical exercise interventions.

Upon analysis of 5 studies that assessed depression levels, exercise interventions did appear to improve depression among the patients in the exercise intervention group compared with those in the control group. The researchers also determined that overall, studies suggest that exercise interventions can improve global HRQOL.

Additionally, none of the interventions caused any major adverse effects.

The goal of an exercise intervention should be to find and prescribe the optimal amount of exercise to maximize its effects, the researchers explained.

“Taken together, the current systematic review of 12 RCTs with 574 individuals with gynecologic cancer showed that physical exercise interventions were safe and hold potential for positive fatigue, HRQOL, and depression outcomes,” the researchers said. “However, the findings should be interpreted with caution because of the small sample sizes of the included studies and the large heterogeneity of the physical exercise program composition, participant characteristics, and measurement tools. More well-designed RCTs with large sample sizes are still needed to make progress in this field of study,” they concluded.

Reference

Ma RC, Li XJ, Liu R, Xu XX. Effects of physical exercise interventions for individuals with gynecologic cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Oncol Nurs Forum. July 2023;50(4):531-543. doi:10.1188/23.ONF.531-543