Systematic review and meta-analysis of breathing exercises effects on lung function and quality of life in postoperative lung cancer patients

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Liam

Systematic review and meta-analysis assess how breathing exercises influence postoperative pulmonary function and quality of life (QoL) in patients with lung cancer. Searches across PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Embase identified randomized controlled trials, followed by risk-of-bias evaluation using the Cochrane tool and structured data extraction. Ten studies met inclusion criteria, showing improvements in forced vital capacity, maximal voluntary ventilation, maximal inspiratory pressure, reduced dyspnea and anxiety, while physical activity and 6-minute walk test outcomes were not significantly changed.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

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Systematic review and meta-analysis of breathing exercises effects on lung function and quality of life in postoperative lung cancer patients Jiayi Ren1\#, Zongyue Li2\#, Yuchen He1\#, Hang Gao1, Jin Li1, Jiming Tao1 1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China; 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China Contributions: (I) Conception and design: J Ren, Z Li; (II) Administrative support: J Tao; (III) Provision of study materials or patients: J Ren, Z Li, H Gao, Y He; (IV) Collection and assembly of data: J Ren, Z Li, H Gao, Y He, J Li; (V) Data analysis and interpretation: J Ren, Z Li, H Gao, Y He, J Li; (VI) Manuscript writing: All authors; (VII) Final approval of manuscript: All authors. \#These authors contributed equally to this work as co-first authors. Correspondence to: Jiming Tao, MD; Hang Gao, Master’s Degree Student. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 528 Zhangheng Road, Zhangjiang Town, Pudong New Area, Shanghai 201203, China. Email: [shuguangkf@163.com](shuguangkf@163.com). Background: Postoperative recovery in lung cancer patients is a complex process, where breathing exercises may play a crucial role in enhancing pulmonary function and quality of life (QoL) . This study systematically reviews and meta-analyzes the impact of breathing exercises on post-surgical lung function and QoL in lung cancer patients. Methods: An extensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Embase databases using terms like “Lung Neoplasms”,“breathing exercises”, and “randomized controlled trial”, supplemented by Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and free words. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used for quality assessment. A systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of breathing exercises post-lung cancer surgery followed by data extraction and quality evaluation. Results: From 384 retrieved studies, 10 met the inclusion criteria and were selected for detailed analysis. The main outcomes assessed were postoperative pulmonary function indices and QoL measures. The majority of studies were deemed ‘low risk’ for random sequence generation and allocation concealment. However, due to the nature of the interventions, blinding was a ‘high risk’ in most cases. The metaanalysis revealed significant improvements in key pulmonary function indices: forced vital capacity (FVC%) increased by an average of 1.73%, maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) improved by 7.58 L/min, and maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) enhanced by 0.95 cmH2O. Additionally, there was a notable alleviation of postoperative dyspnea and an enhancement in QoL, with anxiety scores decreasing by an average of 3.42 points and complication rates reducing correspondingly. However, the interventions did not significantly affect physical activity levels or performance on the 6-minute walk test (6WMT), with effect sizes for these outcomes being non-significant. Conclusions: This study indicates that breathing exercises significantly improve postoperative pulmonary function and QoL in lung cancer patients. Future research should delve into the mechanisms behind these exercises and evaluate their long-term rehabilitation effects. Customized programs could further optimize recovery and enhance patient QoL. Keywords: Lung cancer; postoperative rehabilitation; breathing exercises; pulmonary function; quality of life (QoL) Submitted Nov 11, 2023. Accepted for publication May 31, 2024. Published online Jul 26, 2024. doi: 10.21037/jtd-23-1733 View this article at: [https://dx.doi.org/10.21037/jtd-23-1733](https://dx.doi.org/10.21037/jtd-23-1733) © Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved. J Thorac Dis 2024;16(7):4295-4309 | [https://dx.doi.org/10.21037

FAQs

What outcomes were evaluated in the meta-analysis?

The analysis assessed postoperative pulmonary function indices and quality of life (QoL) measures, including forced vital capacity, maximal voluntary ventilation, maximal inspiratory pressure, and symptom- and QoL-related scales.

Did breathing exercises improve postoperative pulmonary function?

Yes. The meta-analysis found significant improvements in forced vital capacity (FVC%), maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV), and maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP).

Were effects observed on physical activity and the 6-minute walk test?

No. Breathing exercises did not significantly affect physical activity levels or performance on the 6-minute walk test, with non-significant effect sizes.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Liam