Effectsof self-management for cancer-related fatigue: a Meta-analysis

Objective To explore the effects of self-management strategy on cancer-related fatigue patients though meta-analysis. Methods Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) of self-management strategy on cancer-related fatigue were searched in databases including Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, Elsevier, CBM, CNKI, WanFang. After two researchers evaluated the literature quality, ReviewManager 5.3 was used to analyze. Results Twelve RCTs were retrieved and considered as eligible, using The Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS), Function Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Fatigue (FACT-F), Checklist Individual Strength (CIS), Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI). According to the Meta-analysis, cancer-related fatigue could be effectively improved though self-management strategy. Two classification data-the results of BFI measurement RR=0.75 (95%CI: 0.70-0.81, P<0.01), continuous data-SMD=-0.96 (95%CI:-1.81--0.11, P=0.03), CFS measurement results, WMD=-10.69 (95%CI:-12.37--9.01, P<0.01), FACT-F, CIS, MFI measurement results, SMD=-0.22 (95%CI:-0.40--0.04,P=0.01). Conclusions Using self-management strategy can significantly relieve cancer-related fatigue, and more high quality researches were needed to support the findings. Key words: Self-management; Neoplasm; Cancer-related fatigue; Meta-analysis