Different exercise programs on the rehabilitation of the postoperative breast cancer patients :a Meta-analysis

Objective To systematically evaluate the effects of the different postoperative exercise programs on the rehabilitation (such as shoulder range of motion, the incidence of the lymphedema and postoperative complications) of breast cancer patients. Methods The relevant randomized controlled trials which were retrieved from January 2008 to October 2013 were searched in the databases of the Pubmed, Embase, Ovid, Cochrane Library, China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, VIP. Two reviewers independently screened the literature according to the inclusive and exclusive criteria, extracted the data, and assessed the quality. The RevMan 5.2 software was used for Meta-analysis. Results Finally 10 randomized controlled trial involving 1 110 patients were included. The Metaanalysis showed that progressive exercise program compared to usual exercise obviously modified the shoulder anteflexion [MD =33.04 (26.85 -39.23) and 28.05 (21.81-34.30)], abduction [MD =31.06 (8.17 -53.95) and 31.39(24.96-37.82)],extorsion [MD=18.47(13.44-23.50) and 16.02(8.35-23.68)] 1 month and 3 months after surgery (P <0.05), extension 1 month after surgery, adduction 3 months after surgery. It also decreased the incidence of the lymphedema. Conclusions It gives us some evidence that the progressive exercise program can promote the rehabilitation of the postoperative breast cancer patients. Key words: Rehabilitation; Breast neoplasms; Shoulder joint; Lymphedema; Postoperative complications; Meta-analysis