Effects of high-intensity interval training on functional performance and maximal oxygen uptake in comparison with moderate intensity continuous training in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an appropriate training modality to improve endurance and therefore contributes to physical performance. This review investigates the effect of HIIT on functional performance in cancer patients. We reviewed the relative peak oxygen uptake (relV̇O(2PEAK)) and meta-analytical compared HIIT with moderate intensity continuous training (MICT). Furthermore, we took various training parameters under consideration. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted in Scopus, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases. For the review, we included randomized controlled trials containing HIIT with cancer patients. From this, we filtered interventions with additional MICT for the meta-analysis. Outcomes of interest were various functional performance assessments and V̇O(2MAX). RESULTS: The research yielded 584 records which fit the inclusion criteria, of which 31 studies with n=1555 patients (57.4±8.6 years) could be included in the overall review and 8 studies in the meta-analysis (n=268, 59.11±5.11 years) regarding relV̇O(2PEAK). Different functional outcomes were found, of which walking distance (+8.63±6.91% meters in 6-min walk test) and mobility (+2.7cm in sit and reach test) improved significantly due to HIIT. In terms of relV̇O(2PEAK), the performance of cancer patients was improved by HIIT (10.68±6.48%) and MICT (7.4±4.29%). HIIT can be favored to increase relV̇O(2PEAK) (SMD 0.37; 95% CI 0.09–0.65; I(2)=0%; p=0.009). Effect sizes for relV̇O(2PEAK) improvements correlate moderately with total training volume (Spearman’s ρ=0.49; p=0.03), whereas percentage increases do not (Spearman’s ρ=0.24; p=0.14). CONCLUSION: Functional and physical outcomes were positively altered by different HIIT protocols and forms of implementation, whereas a tendency toward more effectiveness of HIIT vs. MICT was found for relV̇O(2PEAK). Future studies should include functional parameters more often, to finally allow a comparison between both training protocols in this regard. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00520-023-08103-9.