The effects of telemedicine on the quality of life of patients with lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and aims: Lung cancer patients suffer from deterioration in their physical and psychological function, which exerts a negative influence on their quality of life (QOL). Telemedicine has been proven to be an effective intervention for patients with several chronic diseases. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the efficacy of telemedicine in improving QOL in lung cancer patients. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science and Scopus databases were searched for randomized controlled trials that investigated the effectiveness of telemedicine in lung cancer patients. Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 15.1 were used to perform data analysis. Results: Our meta-analysis included eight clinical trials with a total of 635 lung cancer patients. The results showed that the telemedicine group had significantly higher QOL than the usual care group [standard mean difference (SMD) 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.29-1.63,I-2 = 91%]. In addition, the telemedicine group had lower anxiety (SMD -0.44, 95% CI -0.66 to -0.23,I-2 = 3%) and depression scores (SMD -0.48, 95% CI -0.91 to -0.05, I-2 = 66%) than the usual care group. However, no significant differences were found in fatigue and pain outcomes between the two groups. Conclusion: Telemedicine may be an effective method of improving QOL in lung cancer patients and the further development and use of telemedicine care is recommended.