Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38086582›Full record

ReviewBMJ open2023

Qualitative exploration of the perceptions of exercise in patients with cancer initiated during chemotherapy: a meta-synthesis.

Christina Andersen, Lis Adamsen, Christina Sadolin Damhus, Karin Piil, Malene Missel, Mary Jarden, Anders Larsen, Hanne Baekgaard Larsen, Tom Møller

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in BMJ open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Experiences of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer participating in a supervised exercise intervention during chemotherapy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
    Trial
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Christina AndersenCenter for Health Research (UCSF), Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark christina.ingeborg.andersen@regionh.dk.ORCID 0000-0002-7332-6437
Lis AdamsenCenter for Health Research (UCSF), Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Christina Sadolin DamhusDepartment of Public Health, University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-8628-5662
Karin PiilDepartment of Oncology, Centre for Cancer and Organ Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0001-7972-4674
Malene MisselDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0003-3267-8038
Mary JardenDepartment of Public Health, University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0003-3040-8384
Anders LarsenCenter for Health Research (UCSF), Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-4448-724X
Hanne Baekgaard LarsenDepartment of Public Health, University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0003-3592-0088
Tom MøllerCenter for Health Research (UCSF), Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0003-1908-258X
Copenhagen University Hospital · DKUniversity of Copenhagen · DKAarhus University · DK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo synthesise qualitative literature on (1) the perceptions of patients with cancer of participating in an exercise intervention while undergoing chemotherapy and (2) to inform and guide professionals in oncology and haematology practice.

designA qualitative meta-synthesis based on Noblit and Hare's seven-step meta-ethnography. DATA SOURCES: Six electronic databases: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), CINAHL, EMBASE, PubMed, SCI-Expanded-SSCI and Scopus (final search June 2022) were used to identify qualitative literature containing individual or focus group interviews. The transparency of reporting for each study was assessed using the Consolidated criteria for Reporting Qualitative research checklist.

resultsThe search identified 5002 articles, 107 of which were selected for full-text review. Seventeen articles from five countries with patients undergoing chemotherapy during exercise interventions were included. Eleven articles were included in the meta-synthesis, which comprised 193 patients with various cancer diagnoses, disease stages, sexes and ages. Four main themes were identified: chemotherapy overpowers the body; exercise in battle with side effects; a break from gloomy thoughts; and a question of survivorship. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The meta-synthesis emphasised that patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and simultaneously participating in exercise interventions may experience momentary relief from overwhelming side effects, even though full bodily recovery may be perceived as a distant prospect. The synthesis offers a sparse empirical basis for gaining insight into what patients experience existentially following exercise interventions. It is up to patients to independently apply the transfer value of exercise to their own existential circumstances.

Indexed as

NeoplasmsAnthropology, CulturalExerciseHumansQualitative ResearchCHEMOTHERAPYHAEMATOLOGYONCOLOGYQUALITATIVE RESEARCHREHABILITATION MEDICINE

Identifiers

PMID38086582
PMCPMC10729187
OpenAlexW4389627295

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.