Physical Activity Interventions for Colorectal Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) has been shown to improve total mortality and colorectal-specific mortality risk; however, colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors have lower rates of PA compared with survivors with other types of cancers. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of PA interventions on CRC survivors. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to identify randomized controlled trials that met the inclusion criteria, which included an intervention designed to increase PA and more than 1 outcome of interest. Random effects of the meta-analyses were performed using Review Manager 5.3. RESULTS: Eight publications representing 7 randomized controlled trials of 803 participants were identified. All studies used a combination of behavioral change methods. Physical activity interventions significantly improved disease-specific quality of life, PA level, and maximum amount of oxygen and did not show significant improvements for fatigue and body mass index among CRC survivors. CONCLUSIONS: We provided evidence that PA interventions were effective in improving disease-specific quality of life, PA level, and maximum amount of oxygen; however, they did not improve fatigue and body mass index. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to determine the optimal mode of delivering PA intervention for CRC survivors. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: As the survival rate of patients with CRC increases, survivors of CRC need to increase PA in a community setting after completing primary treatments. Effective and efficient modes of PA intervention delivery could improve health-related outcomes and address specific barriers for CRC survivors.