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©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Methodol. Mar 20, 2026; 16(1): 109145
Published online Mar 20, 2026. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v16.i1.109145
Published online Mar 20, 2026. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v16.i1.109145
Tai Chi for treating cancer-related fatigue: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Chang Qiao, Xiao-Hui Zhao, Yue-Chuan Jiao, Hao-Wei Li, Graduate School, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China
Na Guo, Li-Ying Wei, Zheng-Rong Wang, Department of Oncology II, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University of Chinese Medicine (Hebei Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China
Guo-Lei Li, Department of General Surgery, Hebei Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang 050011, Hebei Province, China
De-Hui Li, Department of Oncology II, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University of Chinese Medicine (Hebei Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Key Laboratory of Inte
Co-first authors: Chang Qiao and Xiao-Hui Zhao.
Co-corresponding authors: Guo-Lei Li and De-Hui Li.
Author contributions: Qiao C and Zhao XH participated in the study design, data collection, and analysis; Jiao YC and Li HW performed the data analysis; Guo N, Wei LY, Wang ZR, Li GL, and Li DH revised the manuscript; Li GL and Li DH played important and indispensable roles in the manuscript preparation as the co-corresponding authors; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by 2023 Government-Funded Project of the Outstanding Talents Training Program in Clinical Medicine, No. ZF2023165; Key Research and Development Projects of Hebei Province, No. 18277731D; Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, No. H202423105; Hebei Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Scientific Research Project, No. 2023045 and No. 2024023; Hebei Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical Preparation Industry Technology Special Project, No. YJY2024006; and Scientific Research Project of Health Commission of Hebei Province, No. 20220962 and No. 20240282.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors do not have any conflict of interest to declare.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: De-Hui Li, MD, Department of Oncology II, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University of Chinese Medicine (Hebei Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Key Laboratory of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine for Gastroenterology Research, Hebei Industrial Technology Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparation, No. 389 Zhongshan East Road, Chang'an District, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China. 258289951@qq.com
Received: April 30, 2025
Revised: June 6, 2025
Accepted: September 19, 2025
Published online: March 20, 2026
Processing time: 286 Days and 11 Hours
Revised: June 6, 2025
Accepted: September 19, 2025
Published online: March 20, 2026
Processing time: 286 Days and 11 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This meta-analysis offers moderate-certainty evidence indicating that Tai Chi is a safe and effective mind-body intervention for reducing cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and enhancing sleep quality in cancer patients. Potential benefits were also observed regarding quality of life; however, this finding is supported by low-certainty evidence. Overall, these results support the use of Tai Chi as a complementary therapy for alleviating CRF.