Physical Activity Promotion Programmes in Childhood Cancer Patients and Their Impact on Fatigue and Pain: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Cancer is one of the main causes of death in children, however, the techniques and interventions applied allow the cure of 80% of diagnosed cases. The aim of this review was to determine the benefits of a health and physical activity promotion programme to reduce pain and fatigue symptoms in children and adolescents with cancer. The databases PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane, Web of Science and PEDro were searched between December 2020 and January 2021 to elaborate this review, using the keywords child, cancer, exercise, fatigue and pain. The review was preregistered in PROSPERO (ID CRD42021262183). Six studies, out of 937 identified at baseline, were finally included in the review: four randomised controlled trials and two quasi-experimental studies. The total sample size of all the included studies was of 474 participants with very different types of cancer and evolution, and outcome variables were pain, fatigue, physical activity level, self-efficacy and quality of life. A health and physical activity promotion programme seems to improve fatigue in paediatric cancer patients and survivors, but no significant results were found related to pain.

Caregiver perceptions of child heath behaviors and weight during treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia

“…34 While many caregivers saw pain as a hinderance to physical activity, light physical activity could be an effective strategy to decrease treatment-related pain and fatigue. 35,36 However, there are many different sources of pain during cancer treatment; therefore, families would benefit from explicit guidance of when to use PA to help reduce that pain. Generally, national physical activity guidelines for pediatric cancer patients agree that children and adolescents affected by cancer should move more during treatment.…”

Metabolites Associated With Fatigue and Physical Activity in Childhood Cancer

“…To date, no consensus has been reached to specify the best intervention (walking, resistance exercises, etc.) or the intensity/duration needed to improve fatigue during childhood cancer, although the general consensus is that physical activity is generally of benefit (Malysse et al, 2021; Wurz et al, 2021b). Commonly, discussions related to appropriate levels of physical activity intensity to induce change in patient-reported outcomes (i.e., fatigue) have cited dose response U-shaped curves to depict “low” intensity physical activity as ineffective, “moderate” levels of physical activity as optimal, and “high” levels of physical activity as aversive (Ekkekakis et al, 2005).…”

Çocukluk Çağı Kanseri

“…474 katılımcıdan oluşan bu çalışmada sonuçlar; pediatrik kanser hastalarında ve hayatta kalanlarda FA'nın ağrı üzerinde olumlu bir etkisi tesipt edilmemiştir. Diğer yandan yorgunluğu iyileştirdiği ve yaşam kalitesini arttırdığı düşünülmektedir (21).…”

“…Bu son derece hassas teknolojilerin seri sıvı biyopsilere uygulanmasının, tedavi süresince tümör biyolojisi, heterojenliği ve evrimi anlayışını ilerletmesi ve böylece kişiselleştirilmiş tedavi için yeni yollar açması beklenmektedir. Yeni nesil dizilmenin (NGS) hızla gelişmesiyle birlikte, genomik ve transkriptomik değişiklikler prognostik belirteçler olarak kabul ediliyor ve klinik kullanım için uygulanacaktır (1,21).…”