PURPOSE: To summarize evidence on the effects of multidisciplinary psychosocial rehabilitation interventions for adult cancer patients on fatigue, quality of life, participation, coping, and self-efficacy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, PEDro, OTseeker, Sociological Abstracts, CINAHL, and Cochrane CENTRAL for randomized controlled trials. Two reviewers selected articles independently. RESULTS: Thirty-one articles were included and four meta-analyses were conducted. The results of one meta-analysis was statistically significant when comparing multidisciplinary psychosocial interventions to standard care on fatigue among breast cancer patients (standardized mean differences (SMD) 0.30 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.04 to 0.56)) at 2 to 6 months follow-up. However, no significant results were revealed on health-related quality of life among breast cancer (SMD 0.38 (95% CI -0.40 to 1.16)), prostate cancer (SMD 0.06 (95% CI -0.18 to 0.29)), and patients with different cancer diagnoses (SMD 0.06 (95% CI -0.14 to 0.25)) at follow-up. One study reported on effects of interventions on participation, and four studied the outcomes of coping and self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Multidisciplinary psychosocial interventions may decrease fatigue among breast cancer patients. There is an urgent need for rigorous designed trials in cancer rehabilitation, preferably on fatigue, participation, and coping or self-efficacy. The interventions need to be thoroughly described.

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