The results of two reviews published in the Cochrane Database Syst Rev on August 15 show that exercise during or after treatment can improve patients’ quality of life. In both results, exercise had a positive impact on a number of health-related quality of life aspects, including cancer-specific problems, self-image, emotional well-being, sexuality, sleep disturbance and social functioning. Exercise was found to reduce anxiety, fatigue and pain during or after treatment. “In summary, these review results conclude that exercise can improve the quality of life of patients who are being or have been treated for cancer,” said lead author Shiraz I. Mishra, Ph. “However, we need to be cautious with these results because there are many different kinds of exercise programs in the pilot studies we included, including different types of exercise, the length of the program, and the ease of exercise attainment,” he said in a statement that also said, “We will need to learn from future trials We need to understand how to maintain the long-term positive effects of exercise, and whether there are specific types of exercise that are appropriate for specific types of cancer.” The first study: Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2012 Aug 15 The first review involved 56 trials in which 2,286 participants were randomized to the exercise group and 1,985 to the control group. Thirty-six of the trials included patients during treatment, 10 included patients during and after treatment, and the other 10 included patients who were ready to receive treatment. In these trials, exercise programs included walking, endurance training, strength training, cycling, yoga and qigong. The results showed a positive impact of the exercise intervention compared to control in terms of quality of life in all cases. In the subgroup, patients who survived breast cancer had a significant and substantial reduction in anxiety compared to patients with other tumors. While other types of cancer had significant reductions in depression, fatigue, sleep disturbances and significant improvements in quality of life, mood, physical function and role functioning. In addition, moderate and vigorous exercise improved quality of life and physical function and reduced anxiety, fatigue, and sleep disturbances compared to light exercise. The authors cautioned that these results need to be “interpreted with caution” because of the heterogeneity of exercise programs and quality of life assessments and the risk of bias in the trials. The second study: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;8:CD007566 The second review analyzed 40 trials in which 1927 participants were randomly assigned to the exercise group and 1764 participants were assigned to the control group. Thirty of these trials included patients who had completed antineoplastic therapy, and the other 10 had patients who were receiving or completing treatment. Exercise programs included strength training, endurance training, walking, cycling, yoga, qigong and tai chi. In this review, the authors could not draw any conclusions about the effects of the exercise intervention on quality of life in terms of cognitive function, physical function, general health, role function, and spirituality. This is in contrast to the first review, where the authors suggest to pay attention to the analysis of the results because of non-homogeneity and risk of bias. Additional evidence is mounting that physical activity helps improve survival, improves outcomes (e.g., reduced fatigue and emotional distress) and reduces the risk of certain cancers. In one study, non-metastatic patients (55.6% had prostate cancer and 32.5% had breast cancer), who participated in an aerobic fitness program, showed significant reductions in fatigue and increases in vitality. a recent literature review by the 16th International Conference on Cancer Nursing (ICCN) found that physical activity Natl Cancer Inst. Published online May 8, 2012 Its impact on survival in breast cancer provides evidence in a study that physical activity before or after breast cancer diagnosis reduces mortality from specific or other causes of breast cancer. This risk reduction ranged from 41%-51% and was statistically significant. Another strong piece of evidence comes from a study of bowel cancer, where the reduction in cancer mortality was 45%-61%, also statistically significant. In an editorial, Dr. Edward L. Giovannucci from the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health explained that many treatments can prolong survival but reduce quality of life, but exercise not only extends life but also improves quality of life. “Even though the direct effect of physical activity on cancer has not been absolutely proven, physical activity is generally safe, improves quality of life for cancer patients, and has many other health benefits, and appropriate physical activity should be a standard component of cancer treatment.” Other recent studies have found that vigorous physical activity prevents the progression of prostate cancer because of its effects on DNA repair and cell cycle pathways, that about 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity reduces the risk of endometrial cancer, and that exercise even benefits patients with advanced lung cancer.