Effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation in cancer survivors: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate available data regarding the potential benefits of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in cancer survivors. Relevant studies published from inception to April 2024 were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CENTRAL, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, CNKI, WanFang, VIP, and CBM databases. Seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 526 cancer survivors were included in this meta-analysis. CR increased muscle strength (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.39, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.06 to 0.72, P = 0.020), quality of life (QoL) (SMD = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.40 to 0.82, P < 0.001), and led to a decrease in Body Mass Index (BMI) (mean difference (MD) = −1.11, 95% CI: −2.02 to −0.19, P = 0.020), total cholesterol (TC) (MD = −0.41, 95% CI: −0.69 to −0.14, P = 0.003), triglyceride (TG) (MD = −0.33, 95% CI: −0.63 to −0.03, P = 0.030) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (MD = −0.34, 95% CI: −0.57 to −0.12, P = 0.003). The meta-analysis revealed that CR had no statistically significant impact on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. CR may represent an effective strategy to evaluate cancer survivors because it improves muscle strength and QoL and reduces BMI, TC, TG and LDL levels. Further RCTs with strict study designs and larger sample sizes are required to determine the effects of CR on cancer survivors. •Highlight 1: This study investigates the effects of cardiac rehabilitation on cancer patients, including only randomized controlled trials to ensure robust results.•Highlight 2: Previous reviews have not conducted meta-analyses on muscle strength as an outcome measure, despite its critical role in assessing the cardiovascular impact on cancer patients.•Highlight 3: Our findings demonstrate that cardiac rehabilitation training significantly enhances muscle strength and quality of life in cancer patients.