Telerehabilitation in Postoperative Breast Cancer Care: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Postoperative rehabilitation is essential to improve quality of life (QoL), pain control, and upper limb function in women undergoing surgery for breast cancer (BC). Telerehabilitation has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional rehabilitation, especially in patients with limited access to care, but its comparative efficacy remains uncertain.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of telerehabilitation compared with standard care or no treatment in improving QoL, pain, handgrip strength, and upper limb function in women undergoing BC surgery.

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) 2020 guidelines. We included 11 randomized controlled trials, of which 5 were eligible for quantitative synthesis. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials version 2 (RoB2), and the certainty of evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. Outcomes assessed included QoL, pain, grip strength, and upper limb function.

Telerehabilitation significantly improved QoL (standardized mean difference [SMD] 0.59; 95% CI 0.24-0.95; moderate certainty) and grip strength (mean difference [MD] 2.93; 95% CI 0.82-5.04 kg; low certainty), and significantly reduced pain (SMD -0.50; 95% CI -0.79 to -0.22; low certainty). No significant difference was observed for upper limb function (SMD -0.86; 95% CI -2.02 to 0.31; low certainty).

Telerehabilitation is an effective and viable intervention for improving QoL, reducing pain, and enhancing grip strength in women following BC surgery. However, its impact on upper limb function remains inconclusive and requires further investigation.

PROSPERO CRD42024545075; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024545075.