Effectiveness in physical activity levels of proactive behavior-based programs in prostate cancer survivors. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

[OBJECTIVE] The aim of this study was to assess the effects of proactive behavior-based programs on physical activity levels of prostate cancer patients.

[METHODS] A literature search through Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were performed (last search January 2025). The GRADE System and the Cochrane tool were applied to quality assessment. The included studies focused on the application of proactive behavior-based programs among prostate cancer survivors compared to usual care or programs without proactive behavior-based programs. Additionally, we performed a meta-analysis addressing physical activity levels.

[RESULTS] We selected 15 studies, which included 1623 prostate cancer patients. Significant results in favor of proactive behavior-based programs were observed for physical activity levels (MD=0.74, CI95 %=0.3,1.18; p = 0.0009). These results indicated high heterogeneity (I=91 %), which cannot be attributed to chance. The publication bias risk was low. Despite the results obtained in quality assessments, the heterogeneity presented may have impacted the study´s overall quality.

[CONCLUSIONS] The results of this study indicated a significant improvement in physical activity levels of prostate cancer survivors after implementing proactive behavior-based programs.

[CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS] Proactive behavior-based interventions can optimize the timing and setting of physical activity management in prostate cancer survivors.