This is an in-depth assessment of the current evidence for yoga for cancer-related fatigue. Follow the links for other information regarding yoga for cancer:
A Cochrane systematic review evaluated the impact of yoga versus no yoga on cancer-related fatigue (CRF), quality of life (QoL), and psychological outcomes. (Messer 2025) Yoga may benefit cancer-related fatigue in the short term after treatment. The evidence is very uncertain during treatment or over longer durations.
General characteristics of included studies
Number of studies, number of RCTs per SR: One Cochrane systematic review of 21 RCTs (Messer 2025)
Participants: 2041 adults with cancer, undergoing or having completed anticancer therapy.
Interventions: Face-to-face yoga interventions of ≥5 sessions.
Comparators: No yoga (usual care or waitlist control).
Outcomes: Cancer-related fatigue (CrF), quality of life (QoL), depression, anxiety, and adverse events. Timeframes Assessed: Short-, medium-, and long-term effects
Effects on cancer-related fatigue
Yoga during anticancer therapy
CRF: Evidence is very uncertain for short-, medium-, and long-term effects. No clinically meaningful or statistically significant benefit demonstrated.
QoL: Possible small short- and medium-term improvements, but certainty remains very low. Long-term data unavailable.
Yoga after anticancer therapy
CRF: Short-term: Likely beneficial effect (moderate-certainty evidence); Medium-term: Uncertain benefit (very low-certainty); Long-term: Not assessed.
QoL: Very uncertain effects in both short- and medium-term. No long-term data.
Limitations of the evidence
Quality of systematic reviews: High quality according to AMSTAR2 assessment. However, the certainty of evidence is reduced by the methodological limitations of the included trials.
Common limitations across included studies: RCTs were at high risk of bias due to unblinded interventions. Heterogeneity in yoga styles, duration, and outcome measures. Small sample sizes and lack of long-term data. Most studies were underpowered to assess secondary outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression)
Messer S, Oeser A, Wagner C, Wender A, Cryns N, Scherer RW, Mishra SI, Monsef I, Holtkamp U, Andreas M, Bröckelmann PJ, Ernst M, Skoetz N. Yoga for fatigue in people with cancer. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2025, Issue 5. Art. No.: CD015520. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD015520. Accessed 28 May 2025.
