en Radiation Biology Radiation Biology تحقيق بديع Original Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="text-justify:newspaper"><span style="text-kashida-space:50%"><span style="line-height:119%"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:black"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:#1f497d"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-weight:bold"><span style="language:en-US">Background:</span></span></span></span></span></span> <span lang="en-GB" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:black"><span style="language:en-GB">To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of rehabilitation strategies for rectal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy via meta-analysis. </span></span></span></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:#1f497d"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-weight:bold"><span style="language:en-GB">Materials and Methods: </span></span></span></span></span></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:black"><span style="language:en-GB">We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library for English-language studies from inception to April 2025. Eligible studies were screened, quality-assessed using Cochrane and CASP tools, and meta-analyzed with RevMan 5.4. </span></span></span></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:#1f497d"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-weight:bold"><span style="language:en-GB">Results: </span></span></span></span></span></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:black"><span style="language:en-GB">A total of eighteen studies were included, all of which were of acceptable quality. The meta-analysis showed that in most outcome measures, such as health-related physical fitness, body indices, and exercise questionnaire scores, there were no significant differences between the exercise group and the usual care group (P>0.05). When compared to the usual care group, the exercise group had a higher VO₂ at the anaerobic threshold (AT), with a pooled OR of 2.65 (95% CI: 0.71, 4.59). In the assessment of quality of life, the Short Form-36 (SF-36) showed that after exercise, there were significant improvements in role - physical function (OR=9.10, 95% CI: 3.24, 14.97) and social function (OR=7.04, 95% CI: 0.33, 13.75) compared to the levels before exercise. There were no significant differences in the incidence of adverse events between the two groups (OR=1.57, 95% CI: 0.54, 4.57). </span></span></span></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:#1f497d"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-weight:bold"><span style="language:en-GB">Conclusion: </span></span></span></span></span></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:black"><span style="language:en-GB">Rehabilitation strategies incorporating exercise for patients with rectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy enhance VO</span></span></span></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-size:5.9939pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:black"><span style="language:en-GB">₂</span></span></span></span><span lang="en-GB" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:black"><span style="language:en-GB"> at AT and specific quality-of-life indicators, with safety comparable to usual care.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div> Rectal neoplasms, chemotherapy adjuvant, radiotherapy adjuvant, rehabilitation, meta-analysis. 205 214 http://ijrr.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-1477&slc_lang=en&sid=1 H. Fei 7900319475328460032955 7900319475328460032955 No Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic, Hangzhou Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China H. He FHL08496@hotmail.com 7900319475328460032956 7900319475328460032956 Yes Department of Radiation Oncology, Hangzhou Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China