SynthesisBMC cancer2021
The effects of physical activity on overall survival among advanced cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The acceptability of using wearable electronic devices to monitor physical activity of patients with Multiple Myeloma undergoing treatment: a systematic review.Clinical hematology international · 2024Pooled it
- Trial
- Effectiveness of Aerobic Exercise and Tai Chi Interventions on Sleep Quality in Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA oncology · 2024Trial
- Factors associated with physical activity in individuals with metastatic cancer: a UK cross-sectional survey.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026Article
- Physical activity for public health in the 21st century.Nature medicine · 2026Review
- Use of supportive care services and advance care planning among early phase oncology clinical trial participants.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Association of Physical Activity with Dementia Risk in Cancer Survivors: A Korean Nationwide Cohort Study.Cancer research and treatment · 2026Article
- Article
- Article
- Physical Activity and Cancer Incidence and Mortality: Current Evidence and Biological Mechanisms.Cancers · 2025Review
- The Role of Maintaining Nutritional Adequacy Status and Physical Activity in Onco-Nephrology: Not a Myth Anymore, but a Reality.Nutrients · 2025Observational
- Training gut and body: physical activity, diet, ASA and microbiota influence the outcome in gastrointestinal cancer survivors.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Article
- Article
- An integrated framework for the study of exercise across the postdiagnosis cancer continuum.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Article
- Aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and flexibility physical activity and risks of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a population-based prospective cohort of Korean adults.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Investigation of the Trajectory of Muscle and Body Mass as a Prognostic Factor in Patients With Colorectal Cancer: Longitudinal Cohort Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2023Article
- Factors related to moderate exercise during COVID-19 for overweight and obese individuals: A secondary analysis of HINTS data.PEC innovation · 2022Article
- Exercise as cancer treatment: A clinical oncology framework for exercise oncology research.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe survival rates of advanced cancer patients remain low despite clinical therapy advancements. However, physical activity showed promising effects in improving cancer outcomes. This review aimed to systematically evaluate and synthesize the effects on overall mortality of post-diagnosis physical activity in advanced cancer patients.
methodsA systematic search of six English databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and SPORTDiscus) was conducted from their inception up to 3 February 2021. The association of physical activity with survival was evaluated by combining study-specific hazard ratios with random-effects meta-analysis models.
resultsEleven studies were identified. Compared with the reference group, higher-level physical activity was not significantly associated with a lower risk of earlier mortality in advanced cancer patients (InHR = - 0.18, 95% CI, - 0.36 to 0.01). When separated by study type, a higher level of physical activity in non-randomised trials was significantly associated with reduced mortality risk (InHR = - 0.25, 95% CI: - 0.44, - 0.06). However, in randomised trials, engaging in exercise was not significantly associated with a lower mortality risk compared with the control group (InHR = 0.08, 95%CI: - 0.17, 0.32).
conclusionsDiscrepancies were uncovered in the effect of physical activity on overall survival in randomised and non-randomised trials. In non-randomised trials, a higher level of physical activity was significantly associated with a lower risk of mortality, whereas no significant effect on survival was observed during exercise interventions compared to the control in randomised trials. Considering the wider benefits of physical activity, exercise can still be recommended to improve outcomes for advanced cancer patients. Nevertheless, it might be too late for advanced cancer patients to start exercising for survival improvements, based on findings from randomised controlled trials.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.