JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Cancer patients may experience physical and psychological adverse reactions such as fatigue, pain, anxiety, and depression, which seriously affect their quality of life. Research has shown that remote interventions based on applications or mini-programs may help improve cancer patients' physical and mental health. However, due to the limited number of relevant studies, the impact of online interventions in cancer management remains unclear.

Objective:

To determine the efficacy of interventions based on APPs, mini-programs, or other online tools on the physical (body pain), psychological (anxiety and depression), and quality of life of cancer patients.

Methods:

Electronic literature searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and EMBASE. The search period spanned from establishing each database to October 15, 2024. Two researchers independently conducted literature retrieval and data extraction. The risk of bias was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, and the quality of evidence was assessed according to the GRADE. All statistical analyses were performed using Review Manager version 5.4.

Results:

A total of 36 randomized controlled trials were included. The remote online interventions significantly improved the pain intensity in cancer patients (14 studies, SMD = - 0.39, 95% CI: - 0.64 to - 0.14, I² = 82%, GRADE = low). Moreover, the remote online interventions also significantly affected the fatigue status of cancer patients (11 studies, SMD = - 0.52, 95% CI: - 0.95 to - 0.09, I² = 95%, GRADE = low). Regarding anxiety, 14 randomized controlled trials were analyzed, and the results indicated that the remote online interventions significantly improved the anxiety status of cancer patients (14 studies, SMD = - 0.60, 95% CI: - 0.90 to - 0.30, I² = 91%, GRADE = low). The results also showed that the remote online interventions significantly improved the depressive state of cancer patients (10 studies, SMD = - 0.36, 95% CI: - 0.58 to - 0.14, I² = 81%, GRADE = low). For quality of life, 26 randomized controlled trials were involved. The results showed that the remote online interventions had a significant positive impact on the quality of life of cancer patients (SMD = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.39 to 0.87, I² = 92%, GRADE = low).

Conclusions:

The remote online interventions were effective in reducing the intensity of physical pain, relieving fatigue, improving depression and anxiety, and improving the quality of life of cancer patients. However, due to the low certainty of evidence, more rigorous randomised controlled trials are needed to validate these findings further. Clinical Trial: CRD42024611768 (PROSPERO).