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Document Type

Abstract

Publication Date

12-1-2024

Abstract

Background/Purpose: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world and the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Mind-body exercise (MBE) is a non-pharmacological and low-intensity multimodal form of exercise with reliable benefits for improving quality of life (QOL) and relieving cancer-related symptoms. Currently, there is a lack of consensus in clinical studies on the optimal form of MBE to improve QOL and cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in BC survivors. Therefore, this network meta-analysis (NMA) aimed to quantitatively analyze and rank different MBE interventions for women BC survivors, thereby improving the accuracy and generalization of research results.

Method: This review searched published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in eight electronic databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, EBSCO, CNKI, VIP, and WanFang from inception to October 30, 2023. NMA and comparative effects ranking were performed using STATA 17.0 software. The MBEs were ranked to determine their superiority based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve and mean rank. The Cochrane Collaboration tool for RCTs was used to assess the risk of bias for all included studies. Publication bias of NMA was determined by visual inspection of the symmetry of the network funnel plot.

Results: This study included 117 studies with 10,135 women BC patients and eight different MBEs (Baduanjin, Tai chi, dance, pilates, mindfulness, qigong, relaxation, yoga). Baduanjin showed the largest effect size in significantly improving subjective QOL (SMD = 3.03, 95% CI [2.04, 4.01]) compared with the control group, followed by relaxation training (SMD = 1.44, 95% CI [1.04, 1.85]), yoga (SMD = 0.89, 95% CI [0.36, 1.42]), mindfulness (SMD = 0.83, 95% CI [0.54, 1.12]), and Tai chi (SMD = 0.76, 95% CI [0.04, 1.48]). Furthermore, Tai chi (SMD = -1.42, 95% CI [-2.21, -0.63]) ranked first in significantly reducing CRF in BC patients compared with the control group, followed by mindfulness (SMD = -0.81, 95% CI [-1.11, -0.50]), relaxation training (SMD = -0.70, 95% CI [-1.12, -0.28]), and yoga (SMD = -0.53, 95% CI [-0.88, -0.18]).

Conclusion/Discussion: Our NMA confirmed the benefit of MBE in improving QOL and alleviating CRF in BC patients during illness and postoperative rehabilitation. We recommend Baduanjin and Tai chi as inter- and post-treatment exercises for BC patients. Our study supports the effective role of traditional Chinese physical exercise in clinical rehabilitation and treatment, and provides new evidence for BC treatment, which could enhance the clinical decision-making by doctors and nurses.

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