Table 1.
Comparison of the influence of physical activity on cancer survivors.
| Author (Ref.) | Type of Cancer, Number of Patients |
Intervention Type, Intensity |
Frequency, Duration | Main Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singh B. et al. [3] | colorectal cancer (n = 670) | supervised and unsupervised aerobic and combined exercise | pre-treatment supervised: 1 session per week, unsupervised: 3–7 times per week for 4 weeks; during chemotherapy and post-treatment: from 1 to 7 sessions per week for 7 days to 6 months. | Superior to UC for: QoL, aerobic fitness, sleep, fatigue, reduced body fat, depression, upper-body strength (p < 0.05) |
| An K-Y. et al. [8] | breast cancer (n = 301) | CARE | 25–30 min of aerobic exercise (n = 96), 50–60 min (n = 101), a combined dose of 50–60 min of aerobic and resistance exercise (n = 104), median of 17 weeks | The “combined” group was superior for: fatigue, upper and lower body endurance, body fat percentage—12-month follow up, CARE after chemotherapy may be optimal for longer-term health outcomes |
| Cannioto R.A. et al. [9] | breast cancer (n = 1340) | DELCaP [38] | from minimum PAGAs (the MET [41] hour equivalent of 150 min to moderate intensity RPA per week) to exceeding the minimum recommended range |
1 year after diagnosis: reduction in recurrence and mortality |
| Parker N.H. et al. [18] |
pancreatic cancer (n = 50) | aerobic exercise, full-body strengthening exercises | 60 min/week—moderate intensity aerobic PA; 60 min/week of strengthening exercises, 7–25 weeks | Exercise recommendations for cancer survivors are important, but in order to reduce barriers to participation, further efforts are needed. |
| Dieli- Conwright C.M. et al. [23] |
breast cancer (n = 100), overweight and obese survivors | combined aerobic and resistance exercise | 16 weeks, 150 min of aerobic exercise with 2–3 days of resistance exercise training/week | Superior to usual care for QoL, fatigue, depression, muscular strength (p < 0.001). Three-month follow-up: outcomes remained improved. |
| Li W et al. [26] | childhood cancer (n = 222) | adventure-based training program: ice-breaking and teambuilding games, shuttle runs, rock climbing, high- and low-level rope courses and descending |
4 training days: 2 weeks, 2, 4, and 6 months after randomisation |
Significantly lower levels of CRF (p < 0.001), higher levels of physical activity (p < 0.001), QoL (p < 0.01) |
| Jones T.L. et al. [27] | ovarian cancer (20 articles with sample sizes from 10 to 7022) | aerobic | 3 to 26-week intervention, from 75 min/week to 225 min/week | Higher health-related QoL, decreased levels of anxiety and depression, improvement in fatigue, physical and psychological health |
| Galvao D. et al. [31] | prostate cancer with bone metastases (n = 103) | resistance, aerobic, flexibility exercise | 3 times per week, 60 min session, for 3 months | After 3 months—improved self-reported physical function, muscle strength. No changes for total body fat mass, fatigue (p = 0.964). |
| Cataldi et al. [32] | breast cancer (n = 3) | each session: cardiorespiratory, resistance, flexibility, postural education exercises | 8-week programme, 60 min of exercise, 2 days per week | Measures of fatigue have decreased (p < 0.001), exercises improved physical fitness, functional capacity, capability to manage emotional life (p = 0.003), helped with dealing with the physiological and psychological side effects. |
| Di Maso et al. [35] | prostate cancer (n = 777) | occupational and recreational physical activity and Mediterranean diet | 15-year follow-up | Intervention reduces mortality in PCa patients (due to lowering serum insulin levels, IGF and inflammation). |
| Wang et al. [39] | non-metastatic prostate cancer (n = 10,864) | recreational physical activity, e.g., walking, bicycling, aerobics, dancing, jogging, tennis | MET-h/week < 3.5, 3.5–8.75, 8.75, ≤17.5, >17.5 | 37% lower risk of PCSM among men with lower-risk tumours (Gleason score 2–7, T1–T2, p = 0.02), 31% lower risk of PCSM (>17.5 vs. 3.5 ≤ 8.75 MET-h/week)—no difference observed by tumour risk category |
| Dieli-Conwright C.M. et al. [40] | overweight and obese survivors of breast cancer (n = 100) | aerobic, resistance exercise | 3 times per week for 16 weeks | Improved levels of insulin, IGF-1, leptin, adiponectin, BMI, skeletal mass index. At 3-month follow-up, all variables remained improved. |
| Tubiana-Mathieu N. et al. [42] | breast cancer (n = 138) | CPET, 6MWT- 6-min walk test | 6 min | 6MWT allows for the calculation of the required exercise intensity |
| Watson G.A. et al. [43] | Colorectal cancer (n = 832, n = 573) breast, colon cancer (multiple systematic reviews) | aerobic and resistance training | 150 min of moderate intensity aerobic exercise in 3–5 sessions per week; resistance training—at least 2 days per week for 6–12 weeks | PA: reduces mortality and risk of recurrence in cancer survivors; improves QoL, allows maintaining a healthy weight, decreases fatigue. |
| Rogers L.Q. et al. [44] |
breast cancer (n = 222) | BEAT Cancer—physical activity behaviour change intervention | PA recommendations from American Cancer Society, 12 supervised exercise sessions for the first 6 weeks, then unsupervised home-based exercises, >150 min/week of moderate to vigorous PA, 3- and 6-month follow-up | BEAT Cancer was superior to usual care for improvement in sleep quality (p < 0.01) |
PA—physical activity; CARE—Combined Aerobic and Resistance Exercise; DELCaP—Diet, Exercise, Lifestyle and Cancer Prognosis Study; PAGA—Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans; RPA—recreational physical activity; MET—metabolic equivalent of task (minutes/hours); PCa—prostate cancer; PCSM—prostate-cancer-specific mortality; CRF—cancer-related fatigue.