Effects of exercise training on patients with lung cancer who underwent lung resection: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of exercise training in patients with lung cancer after lung resection has not been well established yet. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate the efficiency of exercise training in patients with lung cancer after lung resection. METHODS: Several databases were searched for eligible randomised controlled trials (RCTs). The primary outcome was quality of life, and the secondary outcomes included 6-min walk distance (6MWD), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) and postoperative complications (POCs). Weighted mean differences (WMDs) and relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by random-effects model. RESULTS: Six RCTs involving 438 patients were enrolled in this meta-analysis. The pooled WMDs of the scores were 2.41 (95% CI = −5.20 to 10.02; P = 0.54) and −0.46 (95% CI = −20.52 to 19.61; P = 0.96) for the physical and mental components of the 36-item short-form scale, respectively. The pooled WMDs were 23.50 m (95% CI = −22.04 to 69.03; P = 0.31) for 6MWD and 0.03 L (95% CI = −0.19 to 0.26; P = 0.76) for FEV(1). Finally, the pooled RRs were 0.79 (95% CI = 0.41 to 1.53; P = 0.49) for POCs. CONCLUSIONS: Insufficient evidence is available to support the efficacy of exercise training in patients with lung cancer after lung resection. Further studies must confirm our findings and investigate the long-term effects of exercise training on patients with lung cancer following lung resection. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12957-017-1233-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.