Mustian 2004.

Study characteristics
Methods	Study design: RCT Number randomized: 31; 17 to a Tai Chi Chuan exercise group and to 14 to the control group Study start and stop dates: not reported Length of intervention: 12 weeks Length of follow‐up: to end of the intervention
Participants	Type cancer: breast cancer, Stage 0 to IIIb Time since cancer diagnosis: not reported Time beyond active treatment: between 1 week and 30 months Inclusion criteria: female breast cancer, stage 0 to lllb post treatment Eligibility criterion related to interest or ability to exercise, or both: physician's clearance for fitness testing and exercise engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activity more than once per week physical limitations prohibiting exercise Exclusion criteria: clinical mental illness requiring psychotropic drugs, or by self report presence of catheters or drains Gender: female Current age, mean (SD, range): 52 (9, 33 to 78) years Age at cancer diagnosis: not reported Ethnicity/race: 90% Caucasian Education level: 90% some college SES: > USD40,000 household income, 62% Employment status: employed outside the home, 65% Comorbidities: not reported Past exercise history: not reported On hormone therapy: 56% had received hormonal therapy but specific hormones not reported
Interventions	17 participants assigned to the exercise intervention, including Tai Chi Chuan, comprised of: warm‐up exercises and basic Chi Kung for 10 minutes Tai Chi Chuan for 40 minutes 15‐move short‐form of Yang‐style Tai Chi Chuan regulatory breathing, imagery and meditation for 10 minutes Type exercise (aerobic/anaerobic): aerobic Intensity of experimental exercise intervention: moderate Frequency: 3 times per week Duration of sessions: 60 minutes Duration of program: 12 weeks Total number of exercise sessions: 36 Format: group Facility: facility Professionally led: ACSM‐certified health and fitness instructor certified in Tai Chi Control group: 14 participants assigned to the control group, including: psychosocial support therapy Adherence: exercise group: 72% exercise rate with 100% compliance control group: 67% attendance rate with 100% compliance Contamination of control group: 10%
Outcomes	Primary outcome: QoL outcomes, including: FACIT‐F, 28‐question survey, scale from 0 to 4 self esteem assessed by RSE: scoring 1 ‐ strongly agree, 5 ‐ strongly disagree Secondary outcomes: physical outcomes, including: aerobic capacity, estimated using a 6‐minute walk test protocol muscular strength, evaluated using a handgrip dynamometer to assess the maximal voluntary grip strength flexibility, assessed using goniometer measurements Outcomes were measured at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks (immediate postintervention): exercise group: n = 17 at baseline, n = 11 at 6 weeks, n = 11 at 12 weeks control group, n = 14 at baseline, n = 10 at 6 weeks, n = 10 at 12 weeks Adverse events: no cancer recurrence reported; cognitive deficits reported as reason for treatment termination
Notes	Country: US Funding: Susan Stout Exercise Science Research Fund, Sally Schindel Cone Women's and Gender Studies Research Fund
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	The generation of the random sequence was not described
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Whether the treatment assignment was concealed from study personnel and participants was not described
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	High risk	Owing to the nature of the intervention, it was not possible to blind the participants; however, it is unclear whether the outcome was influenced by a lack of masking
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	High risk	Study personnel and outcome assessors were not masked or blinded to the study interventions
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	High risk	6 participants in the exercise group and 4 in the control group withdrew and were not included in the analyses
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	There appears to be no selective reporting of outcomes
Other bias	Low risk	The trial appears to be free of other problems that could put it at a high risk of bias