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. 2012 Aug 15;2012(8):CD008465. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008465.pub2

Oh 2010.

Study characteristics
Methods Study design: RCT
Number randomized: 162; 79 to the exercise group and 83 to the control group
Study start and stop dates: first recruitment phase was between July 2006 and August 2007 and the second recruitment phase was from August 2007 to May 2008
Length of intervention: 10 weeks
Length of follow‐up: to end of the intervention
Participants Type cancer, n (%):

  • exercise group: breast, 26 (37.7%); lung, 6 (8.7%); prostate, 8 (11.6%); colorectal/bowel, 8 (11.6%); others, 23 (33.3%)

  • control group: breast, 21 (30.9%); lung, 3 (4.4%); prostate, 4 (5.9%); colorectal/bowel, 8 (11.8%); others, 32 (47.1%)


Time since cancer diagnosis: not reported
Time in active treatment: 36 (47.4%) of patients in the intervention group still undergoing cancer treatment and 34 (45.9%) in the control group; randomization stratified by whether still being treated or completed therapy
 Inclusion criteria:

  • confirmed diagnosis of malignancy at any stage

  • ≥ 18 years old

  • expected survival length of > 12 months


Eligibility criterion related to interest or ability, or both, to exercise:

  • medical contraindication for exercise (e.g. significant orthopedic problem or cardiovascular disease)

  • already practicing Qigong


Exclusion criteria:

  • diagnosis of other major medical or psychiatric disorder

  • history of epilepsy, brain metastasis, delirium, or dementia


Gender, n (%):·        

  • exercise group: male, 31 (39.2%); female, 48 (60.8%)

  • control group: male, 38 (45.8); female, 45 (54.2%)


Age, mean (SD) years:

  • exercise group: 60.1 (11.7) years

  • control group: 59.9 (11.3) years


Age at cancer diagnosis: not reported
Ethnicity, n (%):

  • exercise group: Caucasian, 57 (77.0%); Asian, 10 (13.5%); Indigenous Australian, 1 (1.4%); other, 6 (8.1%)

  • control group: Caucasian, 49 (64.5%); Asian, 17 (22.4%); Indigenous Australian, 1 (1.3%); other, 9 (11.8%)


Education level, n (%):

  • exercise group: primary, 1 (1.3%); secondary, 35 (45.5%); undergraduate, 19 (24.7%); postgraduate, 22 (28.6%)

  • control group: primary, 7 (9.2%); secondary, 34 (44.7%); undergraduate, 19 (25.0%); postgraduate, 16 (21.1%)


SES: not reported
Employment status: not reported
Comorbidities: not reported
Past exercise history: limited by eligibility criteria
On hormone therapy: not reported
Interventions 79 participants assigned to exercise group, consisting of medical Qigong, with each session including:

  • 15 minutes of general discussion

  • 30 minutes of gentle stretching and body movement in standing postures 

  • 15 minutes movement in seated posture, and 

  • 30 minutes meditation and including breathing exercises


Type exercise (aerobic/anaerobic): aerobic
Intensity of experimental exercise intervention: mild
Frequency: twice per week for 10 weeks and recommendation to practice at home daily
Duration of sessions: 90 minutes for supervised sessions, 30 minutes for home sessions
Duration of program: 10 weeks
Total number of exercise sessions: maximum of 20 facility‐based and 70 home‐based sessions
Facility: facility
Professionally led: experienced medical Qigong instructor who was a Chinese medicine practitioner
83 participants assigned to control group, including:

  • usual care


Adherence: not reported
Contamination of control group: not reported
Outcomes Primary outcome of QoL included:

  • QoL, measured using the FACT‐G, and subscales of:

    • PWB

    • SWB

    • EWB

    • functional well‐being


Secondary outcomes included:

  • fatigue, measured using the FACT‐F scale

  • mood, measured using the Profile of Mood State and subscales of:

    • tension and anxiety

    • depression

    • anger and hostility

    • lack of vigor

    • fatigue

    • confusion


Physiologic outcomes included:

  • CRP


Outcomes were measured at baseline and 10 weeks:

  • exercise group: n = 79 at baseline, n = 54 at 10 weeks

  • control group: n = 83 at baseline, n = 54 at 10 weeks


Subset: cognitive function outcomes were reported for a subset of patients enrolled after October 2007, including:

  • EORTC QLQ‐C30 cognitive subscale

  • FACT‐Cog subscales of:

    • perceived cognitive impairment

    • perceived cognitive abilities

    • impact of cognitive impairments on QoL


For this group, outcomes were measured at baseline and 10 weeks:

  • exercise group: n = 37 at baseline, n = 23 at 10 weeks

  • control group: n = 44 at baseline, n = 31 at 10 weeks


Subgroup analysis: none reported
Adverse events: none reported
Notes Country: Australia
Funding: University of Sydney Cancer Research Fund
Risk of bias
Bias Authors' judgement Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias) Low risk "Randomization, by computer..."
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 conceal allocation to the intervention from the participants
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 Low risk ITT analysis completed. There were 25 drop‐outs in the exercise group and 29 drop‐outs in the control group, and missing values were "dealt with by multiple imputation..."
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