Physical activity and quality of life in breast cancer survivors

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: We reviewed the literature on breast cancer patients’ physical activity and quality of life. This paper should urge health services and breast cancer survivors to continue appropriate physical activity and assess its advantages. DESIGN: A systematic review was conducted. DATA SOURCES: This systematic review used online databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. A search from the beginning of 2018–2024 was conducted. REVIEW METHOD: Medical Subject Headings (MESH) were used for keyword selection along with other target keywords, such as “Quality of life”, “Breast cancer”, “Chemotherapy”, “Treatment side effects”, “Patient experience”, “Psychosocial well-being”, “Physical functioning”, “Emotional distress”, and “Supportive care”. We reviewed and included all English-language publications. A narrative synthesis was conducted to present the results of the studies. RESULTS: The search using the keywords yielded a total of 135 studies. Each result was filtered again according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in a final total of 15 studies to be included in the systematic review. CONCLUSION: The evidence supports the benefits of physical activity in enhancing the quality of life for breast cancer survivors, indicating that further prospective and intervention studies are needed.