SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2026
Which Exercise Prescriptions Improve Physical Fitness in Patients with Breast Cancer Before, During, and Following Treatment? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Blueprint for adapting the cardiac rehabilitation model for oncology patients with cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome.American journal of preventive cardiology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExercise is now recognized as an essential component of the cancer care continuum. However, the optimal exercise prescriptions to improve physical fitness in breast cancer remain under debate.
objectivesIn a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), we investigated how exercise affects muscular strength, fat-free mass, functional exercise capacity (FEC) and cardiorespiratory fitness during pretreatment, active treatment, and post-treatment for breast cancer. We also investigated how exercise mode, frequency, intensity, supervision, and duration of intervention affect breast cancer survivors' physical fitness.
methodsWe searched four electronic databases to identify RCTs examining exercise's effects on muscular strength, fat-free mass, functional exercise capacity, FEC, and cardiorespiratory fitness in women with breast cancer. We calculated pooled effects (SMD) using the software Comprehensive Meta-Analysis. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on phases of cancer care and exercise mode, frequency, intensity, supervision, and duration of intervention.
resultsAcross 68 randomized controlled trials (N = 4,158), exercise significantly increased muscular strength (Hedges' g = 0.66, 95% CI 0.46-0.85), FEC (Hedges' g = 1.04, 95% CI 0.56-1.52), cardiorespiratory fitness (Hedges' g = 0.96, 95% CI 0.45-1.47), and fat-free mass (Hedges' g = 0.12, 95% CI 0.03-0.20). However, these effects varied according to the phase of cancer care and exercise prescription characteristics, including modality, frequency, supervision, intensity, and duration. During active treatment, combined exercise significantly improved muscular strength, FEC, and cardiorespiratory fitness, but not fat-free mass. In contrast, post-treatment exercise significantly enhanced muscular strength, fat-free mass, and FEC, with no significant effect on cardiorespiratory fitness. Data for evaluating exercise's pretreatment effects were insufficient. The greatest improvements across outcomes were observed with supervised combined aerobic-resistance exercise programs performed at least three times per week for a minimum of 12 weeks.
conclusionsAlthough exercise improves breast cancer survivors' physical fitness, its effects differ depending on its mode, frequency, intensity, supervision, and total duration in addition to the phase of cancer care.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.