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BACKGROUND Nondrug treatments are potentially beneficial for cancer patients. However, the effect of sleep on cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and quality of life (QOL) in cancer patients remains unclear. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to examine the efficacy of sleep in cancer patients undergoing treatment. METHODS The PubMed, Ovid, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases were searched to identify suitable studies. Stata 15.0 software was used for statistical analyses. Sensitivity analyses were conducted. Fourteen studies (6 in English and 8 in Chinese) involving 1151 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Ten, five, and six studies that assessed the effects of sleep on CRF, QOL, and quality of sleep, respectively, in cancer patients undergoing treatment were identified. RESULTS Sleep interventions significantly affected overall CRF (standardized mean difference (SMD) = -1.52, P < 0.01), overall QOL (SMD = 1.20, P < 0.01), physical fatigue (SMD = -0.66, P < 0.01), cognitive fatigue (SMD = -0.38, P = 0.015), and physical function (SMD = 0.64, P < 0.01). Comprehensive intervention measures focusing on sleep, sleep nondrug interventions, and interventions for ≥3 or

Exercise can be beneficial for patients with colorectal cancer; however, few studies have evaluated the effect of exercise on cancer-related fatigue and quality of life.To assess the efficacy of physical exercise for patients with colorectal cancer during treatment, we conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Databases, including PubMed, Ovid, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database were searched to identify suitable studies. Stata 12.0 was used for statistical analysis, and sensitivity analysis was conducted. Nine, five, three, and five studies included data that could be evaluated to assess the effects of physical exercise on cancer-related fatigue, cognitive factors, social factors, and physical factors, respectively, in patients with colorectal cancer during treatment. Ten studies, including 934 patients, were selected for meta-analysis, including five each published in the English and Chinese languages.Significant effects of exercise were detected for cancer-related fatigue (standardized mean difference (SMD) = -1.34, p0.001) and social factors (SMD = 0.67, p = 0.012). Moderate intensity exercise and exercise for less than 12 weeks were identified as effective for preventing cancer-related fatigue. Further, exercise can also improve the level of social support experienced by patients; however, our data indicate that exercise has no significant effect on cognitive or physiological factors.Medium intensity exercise can effectively reduce cancer-related fatigue and improve the quality of life of patients with colorectal cancer.