Thirty-nine trials were included in the review (2,952 participants). Sample size ranged from five to 133 per group. Most of the included studies were of moderate or high quality with low risk of bias. Further details were provided in the article. Twenty-six trials had HRQL as a secondary outcome and of these 19 had concordance between the primary and secondary outcome measures. Most of the trials did not have adequate power to detect a small or moderate effect on HRQL.
Complementary and alternative medicine (seven trials): The pooled effect size was 0.16 (95% CI: -0.06 to 0.40, Ι²=0%).
Self-management or self-efficacy (seven trials): The pooled effect size was 0.24 (95% CI: 0.10 to 0.38, Ι²=0%).
Medication for symptom management (six trials): The pooled effect size was 0.35 (95% CI: 0.02 to 0.68, Ι²=70%).
Exercise / rehabilitation (13 trials): The pooled effect size was 0.43 (95% CI: 0.29 to 0.57, Ι²=0%).
Cognitive training (three trials): The pooled effect size was 0.38 (95% CI: -0.26 to 1.02, Ι²=82.6%).
Psychological interventions for mood (three trials): The pooled effect size was 0.68 (95% CI: 0.45 to 0.91, Ι²=0.9%).
There was no indication of publication bias.