This systematic review summarizes the research of previous studies that used resistance training in the post-treatment phase of cancer patients with a focus on methodological quality, training methods and physical outcome measures. We found twenty-four studies (10 RCTs, 4 controlled clinical trials and 10 uncontrolled trials) that met all inclusion criteria. The studies were of moderate methodological quality. The majority of studies involved breast cancer patients (54%), followed by prostate cancer patients (13%). Most studies used a combination of resistance and aerobic training, which was mostly supervised. Resistance training involved large muscle groups, with 13 sets of 812 repetitions. The duration of the resistance training programs varied from 324 weeks, with a training frequency of 15 sessions per week. The training intensity ranged from 25% to 85% of the one-repetition maximum. Overall, positive training effects were observed for cardiopulmonary and muscle function, with significant increases in peak oxygen uptake (range 6 to 39%), and in the one-repetition maximum (range 11 to 110%). In general, there were no effects of training on body composition, endocrine and immune function, and haematological variables. No adverse effects of the resistance training were reported. Based upon these results, we recommend to incorporate resistance training in cancer rehabilitation programmes.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• DOI
• PubMed
• PDF locator
• publisher

A brief summary and a critical assessment of this review may be available at DARE