1. Summary of sensitivity analysis.
| Outcome | Time point | No. of studies | No. of participants | Statistical method | Effect size |
| 1 Physical functiond | |||||
| 1.1 Subjective measure of physical function | Short‐term follow‐up | 2 | 114 | SMD (IV, random, 95% CI) | 0.08 (‐0.31 to 0.47)a |
| 2 Disease‐related mental health | |||||
| 2.1 Anxiety | Short‐term follow‐up | 3 | 177 | SMD (IV, random, 95% CI) | ‐0.29 (‐0.60 to 0.01)a,b |
| 2.2. Depression | Short‐term follow‐up | 3 | 177 | SMD (IV, random, 95% CI) | ‐0.18 (‐0.48 to 0.13)a,b |
| 3 Physical fitness | |||||
| 3.1 Aerobic fitness | Immediate‐term follow‐up Short‐term follow‐up |
4 5 |
207 187 |
SMD (IV, random, 95% CI) | 0.38 (0.06 to 0.70)a,b 0.45 (0.15 to 0.75)a,b |
| 4 Cancer‐related fatigued | Immediate‐term follow‐up Short‐term follow‐up |
4 5 |
169 224 |
MD (IV, random, 95% CI) SMD (IV, random, 95% CI) |
2.22 (‐0.34 to 4.79)a,b 0.32 (‐0.04 to 0.67)a,b |
| 5 Anthropometric measuresd | |||||
| 5.1 Weight | Immediate‐term follow‐up Change from baseline to 12 weeks follow‐up |
4 2 |
207 64 |
MD (IV, random, 95% CI) | 0.27 (‐2.87 to 3.42)a,c ‐1.76 [‐4.06 to 0.54]c |
| 5.2 Waist to hip ratio | Immediate‐term follow‐up | 2 | 44 | MD (IV, random, 95% CI) | 0.04 [‐0.01 to 0.10]a,c |
| 5.3 BMI | Immediate‐term follow‐up Change from baseline to 12 weeks follow‐up |
4 2 |
207 64 |
MD (IV, random, 95% CI) | 0.10 [‐0.87 to 1.06]a,c ‐0.42 [‐1.30 to 0.46] |
| 5.4 Body fat % | Immediate‐term follow‐up | 3 | 187 | MD (IV, random, 95% CI) | ‐2.13 [‐4.46 to 0.21]a,d |
| 6 HRQoL | Immediate‐term follow‐up | 4 | 169 | SMD (IV, random, 95% CI) | 0.37 [0.07 to 0.68]a,b,c |
| 7 Levels of physical activity | |||||
| 7.1 Objective measures | Immediate‐term follow‐up | 3 | 80 | MD (IV, random, 95% CI) | ‐2.84 [‐12.40 to 6.73]c |
| 7.2 Subjective measures | Immediate‐term follow‐up | 3 | 138 | SMD (IV, random, 95% CI) | 0.68[0.33 to 1.02]c |
BMI: body mass index; CI: confidence interval; HRQoL: health‐related quality of life; MD: mean difference: SD: standard deviation; SMD: standardised mean difference (used when studies assess the same outcome but measure it in a variety of ways).
a Removal of studies that did not conduct an ITT analysis
b Exclusion of studies at high risk of bias
c Exclusion of studies with an additional intervention component
d Results from choice of model (fixed or random) were consistent