Role of physiotherapy rehabilitation strategies in prostate cancer survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Prostate cancer (PCa) patients may suffer a host of adverse effects of the disease or its treatments. The role of physiotherapy in PCa rehabilitation in dealing with these problems is less understood. This study aims to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the existing literature on PCa survivors that studies the role of various physiotherapy rehabilitation strategies in managing problems like cancer-related fatigue (CRF), urinary incontinence (UI), sexual dysfunction (SD), and quality of life (QoL).Objectives To review and quantitatively assess the existing body of literature on the role of physiotherapy strategies and their impact on CRF, UI, SD, and QoL in PCa survivors.Methods A digital search was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, Google Scholar, PEDro, and Cochrane databases between October 2013 and October 2023. Studies meeting the eligibility criteria were evaluated using the PEDro scale followed by descriptive synthesis. The meta-analysis was done using the software Stata version 16. 29 studies were included in this review. 28 were RCTs and 1 was a pre- and post-interventional study. 28 studies were evaluated for risk of bias. Only 10 studies were included for meta-analysis due to insufficient data.Results The results showed significant trends favoring intervention groups regarding CRF (theta = 1.83, z = 2.16; p = 0.03), UI (Theta = -0.60, z = -5.05; p = 0.0000), and QoL (theta = 0.335, z = 2.75; p = 0.01) of PCa survivors. However, non-significant trends favoring the intervention groups regarding SD (theta = 0.36, z = 1.25; p = 0.21) were seen.Conclusion The study highlights that physiotherapy interventions can reduce CRF, UI, and SD and thereby help to improve health-related QoL of PCa survivors.