The role of exercise-based prehabilitation in enhancing surgical outcomes for patients with digestive system cancers: a meta-analysis

Bibliographic Details
Title: The role of exercise-based prehabilitation in enhancing surgical outcomes for patients with digestive system cancers: a meta-analysis
Authors: Shasha Xu, Rong Yin, Haiou Zhu, Yin Gong, Jing Zhu, Changxian Li, Qin Xu
Source: BMC Gastroenterology, Vol 25, Iss 1, Pp 1-16 (2025)
Publisher Information: BMC, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Collection: LCC:Diseases of the digestive system. Gastroenterology
Subject Terms: Prehabilitation, Digestive system cancer, Physical exercise, Functional capacity, Complications, Diseases of the digestive system. Gastroenterology, RC799-869
More Details: Abstract Background Prehabilitation is a crucial component of tumor rehabilitation that attempts to improve patients’ preoperative health, although its efficacy in treating patients with cancers of the digestive system is still up for debate. Methods The records from PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EBSCO, Scopus, CNKI and Wan fang database up to November 2024 were systematically searched. The Cochrane Collaboration tool was employed for evaluating the risk of bias in each study, and the PRISMA 2020 checklist provided by the EQUATOR network was utilized. Results Through quality analysis, 20 articles were included, involving 1719 patients. Although its effect on severe complications is still unknown, the prehabilitation significantly decreased overall postoperative complications when compared to standard care, with a risk ratio (RR) of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.65 to 0.84). Despite not shortening the postoperative hospital stay (MD: -0.13, 95% CI: -0.29 to 0.03), prehabilitation demonstrated notable improvements in the 6-minute walk distance (6MWD), with preoperative gains (MD: 25.87, 95% CI: 14.49 to 37.25) and sustained benefits at 4 weeks postoperatively (MD: 22.48, 95% CI: 7.85 to 37.12). However, no significant differences in 6MWD were observed at 6 or 8 weeks postoperatively. The average improvement in 6MWD from baseline to preoperative was 28.99 (95% CI: 10.89 to 47.08, P = 0.002), and from 4 weeks postoperative to baseline, it was 25.95 (95% CI: 6.84 to 45.07, P = 0.008), with no significant change at 8 weeks. The acceptance and completion rates of prehabilitation were commendably high at 61% (95% CI: 47–75%) and 90% (95% CI: 87–93%), respectively, alongside a relatively low dropout rate of 10% (95% CI: 7% to13%). Conclusions Prehabilitation reduces postoperative complications and improves short-term physical function in digestive surgery patients, with good patient acceptance; however, the long-term effects are unknown due to a lack of follow-up data. Registration It was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) with the identification code CRD42022361100.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1471-230X
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/1471-230X
DOI: 10.1186/s12876-025-03626-3
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/e18216f3ae3349a3a0c0f0eb4d0b3f09
Accession Number: edsdoj.18216f3ae3349a3a0c0f0eb4d0b3f09
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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More Details
ISSN:1471230X
DOI:10.1186/s12876-025-03626-3
Published in:BMC Gastroenterology
Language:English