Wang 2010.

Study characteristics
Methods	Study design: RCT Number randomized: 72; 35 to the exercise group and 37 to the control group Study start and stop dates: participants were recruited between December 2008 and June 2009 Length of intervention: 6 weeks Length of follow‐up: to end of the intervention
Participants	Type cancer: breast cancer  Stage, n (%): exercise group: Stage I, 9 (25.7%); Stage II, 26 (74.3%) control group: Stage I, 7 (18.9%); Stage II, 30 (81.1%) Time since cancer diagnosis: not reported Time in active treatment: followed participants from 24 hours before surgery to end of the chemotherapy cycle (6 weeks) Inclusion criteria: 18 to 72 years old newly diagnosed with Stage I or Stage II breast cancer expecting chemotherapy following recovery from surgery able to read or write Chinese Eligibility criteria related to interest or ability, or both, to exercise: adverse effects or inability to exercise as recommended by their physicians ‐ for example, women with leukopenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and high fever up to 102°F unsafe conditions to exercise contraindications to exercise Exclusion criteria: obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2; excluded to avoid bone and joint problems) degenerative arthritis limiting dyspnea with exertion bone pain severe nausea psychiatric problems recurrent breast cancer reported history of other types of cancer Gender: female Current age, mean (SD) years: exercise group: 48.40 (10.15) years control group: 52.30 (8.84) years Age at cancer diagnosis: not reported Ethnicity/race: not reported Education level, n (%): exercise group: able to read, 2 (5.7%); elementary, 3 (8.6%); high school, 12 (34.3%); college, 12 (34.4%); graduate, 6 (17.1%) control group: able to read, 2 (5.4%); elementary, 7 (18.9%); high school, 13 (35.1%); college, 14 (37.8%); graduate, 1 (2.7%) SES: not reported Employment status, n (%): exercise group: not employed, 8 (22.9%); full‐time, 20 (57.1%); part‐time, 1 (2.9%); retired, 4 (11.4%); leave no pay, 2 (5.7%) control group: not employed, 10 (27.0%); full‐time, 17 (45.9%); part‐time, 1 (2.7%); retired, 9 (24.3%); leave no pay, 0 (0.0%) Comorbidities: not reported Past exercise history, mean (SD): exercise group: exercise time (before), 77.00 (138.00) minutes; exercise time (current), 67.71 (127.35) minutes control group: exercise time (before), 94.46 (126.41) minutes; exercise time (current), 66.89 (109.60) minutes Exercise type performed at baseline, n (%): exercise group: none, 11 (31.4%); walk, 15 (42.9%); fast walk, 5 (14.3%); mountain climbing, 1 (2.9%); yoga, 0 (0.0%); tai‐chi, 0 (0.0%); others, 3 (8.6%) control group: none, 12 (32.4%); walk, 12 (32.4%); fast walk, 3 (8.1%); mountain climbing, 3 (8.1%); yoga, 2 (5.4%); tai‐chi, 2 (5.4%); others, 3 (8.1%)
Interventions	35 participants assigned to the exercise group, including a 6‐week home‐based walking program and strategies to boost women's exercise self‐efficacy. The exercise program included the use of: HR ring monitor (functioning as a HR monitor (Unilife Corporation, Taipei, Taiwan); pedometer weekly phone call weekly exercise diary weekly meeting a role model story to advance participants' exercise self‐efficacy Type exercise (aerobic/anaerobic): aerobic Intensity of the experimental exercise intervention: low‐ to moderate‐intensity measured by a maximal HR from 40% to 60% or the modified Borg Scale between 0.5 and 2 Frequency: 3 to 5 sessions per week Duration of individual sessions: 30 minutes Duration of exercise program: 6 weeks Total number of exercise sessions: 18 to 30 sessions Format: individual Facility: home Professionally led: not professionally led Adherence: poor compliance (exercise not of low to moderate intensity, < 3 exercise sessions per week, or < 30 minutes per session) were 1 (3.3%), 2 (6.7%), and 2 (6.7%), respectively 37 participants assigned to control group, including: usual care Contamination of control group: 30.4% (n = 10) participants exercised more than 3 times per week and 30 minutes per session
Outcomes	No primary outcome was identified. QoL outcomes included: HRQoL, assessed using the FACT‐G fatigue, assessed using the FACIT‐F sleep disturbances, assessed using the PSQI  Other outcomes included: exercise self‐efficacy, assessed using the ESES exercise behavior during the past week, assessed using the GLTEQ exercise capacity, assessed by 6MWD Outcomes were measured at baseline, 2 to 3 weeks after surgery (second baseline), 4 weeks, and 6 weeks: exercise group: n = 35 at baseline, n = 35 at 2 to 3 weeks, n = 4 weeks, n = 35 at 6 weeks control group: n = 35 at baseline, n = 35 at 2 to 3 weeks, n = 4 weeks, n = 35 at 6 weeks Subgroup analysis: none Adverse events: 2 participants (2.8%) had adverse effects of anemia and dizziness with dyspnea during the program, and both dropped out from the study at weeks 2 and 3, respectively. 3 adverse events in control group: 1 discomfort with exercise, 1 dizziness, 1 dyspnea
Notes	Country: Taiwan Funding: Hebei Department of Hygiene
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 assigned 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	Allocation to the intervention was not concealed from the study personnel
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Although there was attrition, the author completed a longitudinal repeated measure, which typically would incorporate data for missing values. However, it was not stated whether this was done
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	There appears to be no selective reporting of outcomes
Other bias	High risk	Substantial number of control group participants engaging in exercise could place the trial at a high risk of additional biases