SynthesisJournal of cancer survivorship : research and practice2023
The effects of physical exercise in the palliative care phase for people with advanced cancer: a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
42 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness and Feasibility of Telehealth-Based Dietary Interventions Targeting Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Pooled it
- The content and effectiveness of physical activity for cancer-related fatigue among colorectal cancer survivors: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Nursing open · 2023Pooled it
- The Effect of Abdominal Massage and In-Bed Exercise on Gastrointestinal Complications, Pain and Comfort in Palliative Care Patients: A Randomised Controlled Trial.Scandinavian journal of caring sciences · 2026Trial
- Exercise effects on lean body mass, muscle strength and functional performance in patients with metastatic breast cancer: the randomized controlled PREFERABLE-EFFECT study.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2026Trial
- Effects of exercise and diet in patients with incurable gastroesophageal cancer: the RADICES study.JNCI cancer spectrum · 2026Trial
- Managing fatigue with methylphenidate and physical activity during cancer immunotherapy treatment.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Trial
- Methylphenidate versus placebo for fatigue in patients with advanced cancer: the MePFAC randomised controlled trial.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Trial
- Supervised, structured and individualized exercise in metastatic breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial.Nature medicine · 2024Trial
- Methylphenidate Versus Placebo for Treating Fatigue in Patients With Advanced Cancer: Randomized, Double-Blind, Multicenter, Placebo-Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2024Trial
- P-move: a randomized control trial of exercise in patients with advanced pancreatic or biliary tract cancer (aPBC) receiving beyond first-line chemotherapy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Trial
- Lung Cancer Survivorship: Challenges and Care Needs.Cancers · 2026Review
- Mapping social implications of wearables to monitor physical activity in palliative care - a qualitative approach.BMC palliative care · 2026Article
- Individualized Physiotherapy Improves Quality of Life and Symptom Burden in Advanced Cancer: A Quasi-Experimental Study.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026Article
- Ethical-Regulatory Guidelines for AI in Palliative Care Rehabilitation.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- An App-Based Behavioral Support Intervention Promoting Physical Activity (APPROACH) in Patients Diagnosed With Breast, Prostate, or Colorectal Cancer: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- From Intention to Action: A Grounded Theory Study on the Staged Mechanisms of Postoperative Exercise Behavior Among Breast Cancer Patients.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Article
- Health-related quality of life in palliative care: determinants identified in a hospital-based observational study.BMC palliative care · 2025Observational
- Frailty in Cancer: Why Bother and Ways Forward.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Article
- Artificial Intelligence in Exercise Prescription in Palliative Care: Perceptions and Ethical Issues.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe purpose of this systematic review with meta-analysis was to evaluate the safety, feasibility and effectiveness of exercise in the palliative care phase for people with advanced cancer.
methodsElectronic databases were searched for exercise randomised controlled trials involving individuals with incurable cancer that were published prior to April 14, 2021. Meta-analyses were performed to evaluate the effects of exercise on health outcomes. Subgroup effects for exercise mode, supervision, intervention duration and cancer diagnosis were assessed.
resultsTwenty-two trials involving interventions ranging between 2 weeks and 6 months were included. Interventions comprised of aerobic (n = 3), resistance (n = 4), mixed-mode (n = 14) and other exercise (n = 1) modalities. Cancer types consisted of lung (n = 6), breast (n = 3), prostate (n = 2), multiple myeloma (n = 1) and mixed cancer types (n = 10). Meta-analysis of 20 RCTs involving 1840 participants showed no difference in the risk of a grade 2-4 adverse event between exercise and usual care (n = 110 adverse events (exercise: n = 66 events; usual care: n = 44 events), RD = - 0.01 (91% CI = - 0.01, 0.02); p = 0.24). Overall median recruitment, retention and adherence rates were 56%, 80% and 69%, respectively. Meta-analysis of health outcomes showed effects in favour of exercise for quality of life, fatigue, aerobic fitness and lower-body strength (SMD range = 0.27-0.48, all p < 0.05).
conclusionsParticipants who engaged in exercise experienced an increase in quality of life, fitness and strength and a decrease in fatigue. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Physical activity programs were found to be safe and feasible for people with advanced cancer in the palliative care phase.
Indexed as
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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.