SynthesisIntegrative cancer therapies
Can Exercise Counteract Cancer Cachexia? A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Integrative cancer therapies. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exercise training prior to and during cancer in mice preserves muscle mass, reduces tumour weight and suppresses molecular mediators of cachexia.The Journal of physiology · 2026Article
- The evolving landscape of cancer cachexia prevention: A review of metronomic chemotherapy and drug repurposing strategies.Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2025Review
- Physical Activity, Exerkines, and Their Role in Cancer Cachexia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Exercise-based interventions for cancer cachexia: A systematic review of randomised and non-randomised controlled trials.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2023Review
- Exercise and Exercise Mimetics for the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Disorders.Current osteoporosis reports · 2022Review
- Review
- Exercise-Based Interventions to Counteract Skeletal Muscle Mass Loss in People with Cancer: Can We Overcome the Odds?Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Review
- Nutritional and Exercise Interventions in Cancer-Related Cachexia: An Extensive Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- The Impact of Exercise on Fatigue among Patients Undergoing Adjuvant Radiation Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of caring sciences · 2022Review
- Physical exercise at the crossroad between muscle wasting and the immune system: implications for lung cancer cachexia.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2022Review
- Exercise in People With Cancer: A Spotlight on Energy Regulation and Cachexia.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Review
- A review of physical activity in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: Epidemiology, intervention, animal models, and clinical trials.Pancreatology : official journal of the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) ... [et al.] · 2022Review
- The Role of Autophagy Modulated by Exercise in Cancer Cachexia.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Targeting Mitochondria by SS-31 Ameliorates the Whole Body Energy Status in Cancer- and Chemotherapy-Induced Cachexia.Cancers · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCancer-cachexia is associated with chronic inflammation, impaired muscle metabolism and body mass loss, all of which are classical targets of physical exercise.
objectivesThis systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the effects of exercise on body and muscle mass in cachectic cancer hosts. DATA SOURCES: PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, CINHAL, ISI Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched until July 2019. STUDY SELECTION: Trials had to be randomized controlled trials or controlled trials including cancer patients or animal models with cachexia-inducing tumors. Only sole exercise interventions over at least 7 days performed in a controlled environment were included. DATA EXTRACTION: Risk of bias was assessed and a random-effects model was used to pool effect sizes by standardized mean differences (SMD).
resultsAll eligible 20 studies were performed in rodents. Studies prescribed aerobic (n = 15), strength (n = 3) or combined training (n = 2). No statistical differences were observed for body mass and muscle weight of the gastrocnemius, soleus, and tibialis muscles between the exercise and control conditions (SMD = ‒0.05, 95%CI-0.64-0.55, LIMITATIONS: No human trials were identified. A large study heterogeneity was present, probably due to different exercise modalities and outcome reporting.
conclusionExercise does not seem to affect cancer-cachexia in rodents. However, the linear regression revealed that exercise duration prior to tumor inoculation led to reduced cachexia-severity, possibly strengthening the rationale for the use of exercise in cancer patients at cachexia risk.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.