Physical Rehabilitation among Cancer Patients Line Oldervoll, Stein Kaasa, Marianne J. Hjermstad, Jon Håvard Loge Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University for Science and Technology, Trondheim/Dept. Behavioural Sciences in Medicine, University of Oslo Background: Active rehabilitation including physical training has become more common in oncology and recently published reviews ask for more research within physical rehabilitation of palliative cancer patients.
Methods: Systematic searches for RCT’s was conducted employing the following MESH terms: exercise, neoplasms, cancer, rehabilitation, intervention.
Results: Twelve randomised trials were identified with sample sizes ranges from 21 to 155 patients. Eleven studies included patients treated with curative intent. One study included a mixed population of both palliative and curative patients. The majority of studies (9 studies) included female breast cancer patients. Four trials reported the eligible patients in proper ways according to the Consort Statement. Less than one third of the patients were included and randomised. The studies showed effects on both subjective and physiological outcomes (e.g. improved health related quality of life, reduced fatigue, anxiety, nausea and improvement in physical capacity, muscular strength and sleep pattern). No differences in effects were detected between palliative and curative patients. A wide range of health-related quality of life instruments and objective physical tests were employed. Comparisons across the studies are thus difficult.
Conclusions: Randomised clinical studies are few, small-sized and mostly encompass breast cancer patients. Only one study included palliative care patients. Physical rehabilitation must be regarded to be in its first research face. Knowledge about type of physical exercise most beneficial for patients at different stages of disease trajectory is still missing.