Effectiveness of home-based exercise programs in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A systematic review

The purpose of this review is to synthesize the existing scientific literature on physical fitness levels and home-based exercise interventions in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

The review process was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. A systematic search was performed in the PubMed and Web of Science databases, with the final search conducted on December 17, 2024. The search terms were (home-based OR home based OR home OR home-setting OR home care) AND (physical therapy OR intervention OR rehabilitation OR exercise OR physical activity OR training OR walking OR activity) AND (Child cancer OR leukemia OR lymphoma OR bone tumor OR brain tumor OR pediatric cancer OR hematopoietic stem cell transplantation OR bone marrow transplantation OR childhood cancer survivor).

Based on the initial search terms, a total of 946 articles were identified through the database search, and 1 additional eligible study was found by reviewing the reference lists. After removing duplicates, 653 articles remained, and their titles and abstracts were screened. Of these, 638 articles were excluded for not meeting the eligibility criteria. The full texts of the remaining 15 articles were then assessed against the inclusion criteria. Following this full-text review, 5 articles that met the inclusion criteria were included in the qualitative synthesis.

Home-based exercise interventions have the potential to improve physical health parameters in children with ALL. However, further research in this field should be conducted with larger and more homogeneous sample sizes, adhering to stricter methodological standards.