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The effects of exercise on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

Purpose

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of current studies to determine whether exercise affects chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) symptoms in cancer patients.

Design

The Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PubMed, and National Central Library databases, and the reference lists of the included studies were surveyed. The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) extension checklist for non-pharmacologic treatment was used to evaluate the literature.

Setting and participants

Exercise interventions offered in hospitals or at home. A total of 178 participants from 5 studies were assessed in the meta-analysis, with their mean age ranging from 48.56 to 71.82 years.

Methods

The randomized control trials were summarized in a systematic review. The effects of the exercise interventions were compiled for meta-analysis. A forest plot was constructed using a fixed effect model to obtain a pooled mean difference.

Results

The pooled results indicated that exercise interventions significantly improved the CIPN symptoms of the participants (mean difference: 0.5319; 95% confidence interval: 0.2295 to 0.8344; Z = 3.45; P = 0.0006). A combination of exercise protocols including a nerve gliding exercise intervention was found to have improved CIPN symptoms. In addition, a sensorimotor-based exercise intervention was found to have reduced CIPN-induced loss of postural stability.

Conclusions and implications

The findings indicated that the effects of exercise could improve CIPN symptoms in cancer patients. Nevertheless, further investigations of different exercise protocols and intensity of intervention utilizing larger sample sizes and more specific outcome measures will further inform the best practices for cancer patients.

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Data availability

Data available upon request

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Center, Chi Mei Medical Center, Liouying, Taiwan

    Wen-Li Lin

  2. College of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University, 3F/4F, First Teaching Building 100, Shih-Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung, 80708, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Wen-Li Lin, Ruey-Hsia Wang, Fan-Hao Chou & Hsiu-Hung Wang

  3. Institute of Precision Medicine, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    I-Jung Feng

  4. Medical Library, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    Ching-Ju Fang

  5. Department of Secretariat, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    Ching-Ju Fang

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Contributions

Conceptualization: Wen-Li Lin

Acquisition of data: Wen-Li Lin and Hsiu-Hung Wang

Analysis and/or interpretation of data: Wen-Li Lin and I-Jung Feng

Drafting the manuscript: Wen-Li Lin and Ching-Ju Fang

Revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content: Ruey-Hsia Wang and Fan-Hao Chou

Data validation: Wen-Li Lin, Hsiu-Hung Wang, Ruey-Hsia Wang, and Fan-Hao Chou

Supervision: Hsiu-Hung Wang

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Correspondence to Hsiu-Hung Wang.

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Lin, WL., Wang, RH., Chou, FH. et al. The effects of exercise on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Support Care Cancer 29, 5303–5311 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06082-3

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