Exercise during blood-cancer chemotherapy improved fitness, with other outcomes less certain
Exercise programmes improved fitness measures compared with controls. Anxiety and quality-of-life results were nonsignificant, fatigue remained uncertain, and parts of the abstract need clarification.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
For adults receiving chemotherapy for blood cancers, exercise interventions improved several fitness measures compared with control groups. The review also reported lower depression scores, while anxiety and quality-of-life differences were not statistically significant and fatigue effects remained uncertain. Reporting inconsistencies in the abstract limit interpretation of depression and safety results, although the fitness findings are clearer.
The adverse-event sentence is unclear, and the depression estimate falls outside its stated confidence interval. Detailed safety and depression results cannot be resolved through this abstract-based explanation.
What researchers found
Exercise groups versus controls
During chemotherapy, pooled standardized mean differences in timed walking distance favored exercise. Programme lengths were not reported in the abstract.
What the fitness tests captured
Timed walking distance measures how far someone walks within a set time. The review also found improvements in a timed standing-and-walking test, peak oxygen consumption and strength. These outcomes were assessed separately from mental health.
Participation and safety
Most included studies described participation as feasible or high. That helps explain whether programmes could be carried out during chemotherapy. However, the unclear adverse-event wording prevents a precise account of harms associated with exercise.
The original publication
Safety, feasibility, and effectiveness of exercise interventions in patients with hematologic malignancy during chemotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Luo Y, Ren Y, Li Y et al.
Support Care Cancer · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40646359
- Record checked
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