Annals of Coloproctology

Review

Colorectal cancer

Postoperative outcomes after prehabilitation for colorectal cancer patients undergoing surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and nonrandomized studies: Ian Jun Yan Wee, Isaac Seow-En, Aik Yong Chok, Eileen Sim, Chee Hoe Koo, Wenjie Lin, Chang Meihuan, Emile Kwong-Wei Tan; Ann Coloproctol. 2024;40(3):191-199. Published online May 16, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3393/ac.2022.01095.0156

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Purpose
Prehabilitation (PH) is purported to improve patients’ preoperative functional status. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to compare short-term postoperative outcomes between patients who underwent a protocolized PH program and the existing standard of care among colorectal cancer patients awaiting surgery.
Methods
A search in MEDLINE/PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, and CINAHL was conducted to identify relevant articles. Repetitive and exhaustive combinations of MeSH search terms (“prehabilitation,” “colorectal cancer,” “colon cancer,” and “rectal cancer”) were used to identify randomized and nonrandomized studies comparing PH versus standard of care for colorectal cancer patients awaiting surgery. The primary outcomes included postoperative morbidity, length of hospital stay, and readmission rates.
Results
Seven studies including 1,042 colorectal cancer patients (PH, 382) were included. No significant differences were found in intraoperative outcomes. The postoperative complication rates were comparable between groups (Clavien-Dindo grades I and II: risk ratio, 0.82; 95% confidence interval, 0.62–1.07; P=0.15; Clavien-Dindo grades ≥III: risk ratio, 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.72–1.44; P=0.92). There were also no significant differences in length of hospital stay (P=0.21) or the risk of 30-day readmission (P=0.68).
Conclusion
Although PH does not appear to improve short-term postoperative outcomes following colorectal cancer surgery, the quality of evidence is impaired by the limited trials and heterogeneity. Thus, further large-scale trials are warranted to draw definitive conclusions and establish the long-term effects of PH.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

The inequalities and challenges of prehabilitation before cancer surgery: a narrative review
Hilary Stewart, Sophie Stanley, Xiubin Zhang, Lisa Ashmore, Christopher Gaffney, Jo Rycroft‐Malone, Andrew F. Smith, Laura Wareing, Cliff Shelton
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Chelsia Gillis, Arved Weimann
Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care.2025; 28(3): 224. CrossRef
The role of exercise-based prehabilitation in enhancing surgical outcomes for patients with digestive system cancers: a meta-analysis
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BMC Gastroenterology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Identifying and optimizing psychosocial frailty in surgical practice
Kurt S. Schultz, Caroline E. Richburg, Emily Y. Park, Ira L. Leeds
Seminars in Colon and Rectal Surgery.2024; 35(4): 101061. CrossRef

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