Evidence-based summary of nursing care for physical activity management in advanced lung cancer

In the continuum of care for patients with advanced lung cancer, nurses often serve as the primary implementers and coordinators of physical activity management, being responsible for functional assessment, health education, symptom and safety monitoring, and post-discharge follow-up support. However, because the evidence is fragmented and varies in quality, clinical practice still lacks unified, actionable guidance on selecting appropriate intensity, defining safety thresholds and contraindications, or supporting long-term maintenance. International and Chinese guideline repositories, professional society websites, and electronic databases were systematically searched for clinical decision resources, recommended practices, evidence summaries, expert consensus statements, systematic reviews, and randomized controlled trials related to physical activity management in patients with advanced lung cancer. Searches were conducted from database inception to November 2025. Three researchers independently appraised methodological quality and performed evidence extraction and synthesis. Thirty studies were included, comprising five guidelines, 21 systematic reviews, and four randomized controlled trials. A total of 24 best-evidence statements were synthesized across six domains of physical activity management for patients with advanced lung cancer. These domains included the clinical effects of physical activity interventions, pre-intervention assessment, recommended types and intensity of physical activity, safety considerations and contraindications, individualized planning and implementation strategies, and long-term maintenance and behavioral support. This study synthesizes the best available evidence on physical activity management for patients with advanced lung cancer and provides an evidence base for nursing practice. Nurses are encouraged to tailor physical activity guidance to the clinical context, available resources, and patients’ preferences, using risk assessment and stratification to support safe implementation and long-term maintenance. Not applicable.