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Yoga has a solid effect on cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer: a meta-analysis

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Abstract

Purpose

This study was designed to critically evaluate the effect of yoga on cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer.

Methods

Eight databases (Cochrane Library, PubMed, Ovid-Medline, Web of Science, CBM, Wanfang, VIP, and CNKI) were systematically reviewed from inception to January 2019 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Two reviewers critically and independently assessed the risk of bias using Cochrane Collaboration criteria and extracted correlated data using the designed form. All analyses were performed with Review Manager 5.3.

Results

A total of 17 qualified studies that included 2183 patients (yoga: 1112, control: 1071) were included in the meta-analysis. Yoga had a large effect on fatigue in post-treatment breast cancer patients and had a small effect on intra-treatment patients. The meta-analysis also indicated that supervised yoga class had a significant effect on CRF; the six-week program had a moderate beneficial effect while the 60/90 min/session supervised yoga class and the eight-week program demonstrated a large effect on fatigue in patients with breast cancer. Yoga could markedly mitigate the physical fatigue in breast cancer patients, had a medium impact on cognitive fatigue, and manifested a small effect on mental fatigue. Eight studies reported the adverse events, whereas ten studies did not.

Conclusions

Yoga can be considered as an alternative therapy for relieving fatigue in breast cancer patients who have completed treatment or are undergoing anti-cancer treatment.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Humanity and Social Science Youth Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (Project No. 18YJCZH164).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Bei Dong and Congyan Xie have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University/School of Nursing, Soochow University, No. 188 Shizi Road, Suzhou, 215006, People’s Republic of China

    Bei Dong, Congyan Xie, Xiuchen Jing, Lu Lin & Li Tian

  2. School of Nursing, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, People’s Republic of China

    Bei Dong, Congyan Xie, Lu Lin & Li Tian

Authors
  1. Bei Dong
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  2. Congyan Xie
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  3. Xiuchen Jing
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  4. Lu Lin
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  5. Li Tian
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Lu Lin or Li Tian.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Li Tian is the first corresponding author and Lu Lin is the co-corresponding author

Appendix. A detailed search strategy for Medline

Appendix. A detailed search strategy for Medline

#1

“Breast Neoplasms” [Mesh] OR breast tumor [Title/Abstract] OR Breast Cancer [Title/Abstract] OR Breast Carcinoma [Title/Abstract] OR Mammary Cancer [Title/Abstract] OR Mammary Carcinoma [Title/Abstract] OR Mammary Neoplasm [Title/Abstract] OR Mammary tumor [Title/Abstract]

#2

“Fatigue” [Mesh] OR Asthenia [Title/Abstract] OR Lassitude [Title/Abstract]

#3

“Yoga” [Mesh] OR Yogic [Title/Abstract] OR Asana [Title/Abstract]

#4

randomized controlled trial [Publication Type]

#5

#1 AND #2 AND #3 AND #4

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Dong, B., Xie, C., Jing, X. et al. Yoga has a solid effect on cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer: a meta-analysis. Breast Cancer Res Treat 177, 5–16 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-019-05278-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-019-05278-w

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