Feasibility and safety of an exercise-based prehabilitation intervention before cancer surgery: a pilot randomised controlled trial.
7 affiliations
- 1Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation University Australia, Victoria, Australia.
- 2School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
- 3Grampians Health, Victoria, Australia.
- 4Deakin Rural Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
- 5Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
- 6Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. [email protected].
- 7Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, Queensland, Australia. [email protected].
Abstract
Purpose
The study aimed to assess the feasibility and safety of an exercise-based prehabilitation intervention and explore preliminary clinical outcomes in breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer patients awaiting surgery in a large regional healthcare service.Methods
Patients with breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer scheduled for surgery were recruited at a single study centre and randomised (1:1) to prehabilitation or usual care. The intervention involved supervised aerobic exercise training 2-3 days per week before surgery. Usual care involved standard cancer treatment. Feasibility was assessed through recruitment, attendance, adherence, and attrition rates. Safety was evaluated via adverse event monitoring. Exploratory analyses evaluated group-by-time changes in cardiorespiratory fitness, health-related quality of life, and fatigue from baseline to the pre-surgery and post-surgery assessment timepoints, with 30-day post-operative outcomes (complications and length of stay) also collected.Results
Of 47 potentially eligible patients approached and screened, 23 were recruited and randomised, and completed baseline assessments. Twenty participants (prehabilitation n = 11, usual care n = 9) completed the pre- and T1 and T2 assessments. Participants attended an average of 5.25 ± 2.16 prehabilitation sessions. Attendance, adherence, completeness, and attrition rates were 91.3%, 82.6%, 85.7%, and 13%, respectively. Five adverse events were recorded in the prehabilitation group (fatigue, n = 3; muscular pain in the extremities, n = 2); all were grade 1. No significant group-by-time interactions were observed for cardiorespiratory fitness, health-related quality of life, or fatigue.Conclusions
Among participants who commenced prehabilitation, attendance, adherence, and completeness were 91.3%, 82.6%, and 85.7%, respectively. No serious adverse events were observed. Exploratory clinical outcome estimates were imprecise and did not support firm conclusions regarding intervention effectiveness. Recruitment limitations and the small heterogeneous sample also preclude broader conclusions regarding feasibility.
Related
- Prehabilitation and Early Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) in head and neck cancers: a protocol for a prospective, stratified, open-label randomised controlled trial in adults (PreERA)
- Adaptation and feasibility assessment of a school-based Suicide Prevention Intervention for Adolescents (SPREAD Study) in Nigeria: protocol for a cluster randomised controlled feasibility trial
- Implementing the MATILDA intervention to enhance community participation for older adults with intellectual disability: A feasibility randomised controlled trial and RE-AIM guided process evaluation
- Feasibility, Acceptability, and Appropriateness of an 8-Week Supervised Aerobic Exercise Intervention for Adults With Epilepsy: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.
- Effects of cognitive-motor dual-task walking exercise versus walking-only exercise on cognitive function and patient-centred outcomes in older adults with subjective brain fog: a randomised controlled trial.
BibTeX
@article{hennessy2026feasibility,
title = {{Feasibility and safety of an exercise-based prehabilitation intervention before cancer surgery: a pilot randomised controlled trial.}},
author = {Declan T Hennessy and Anna Wong Shee and Jonathan C Rawstorn and Luke Evans and Stephen Brown and Matthew P Wallen},
journal = {Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1007/s00520-026-11356-9},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42905213},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Feasibility and safety of an exercise-based prehabilitation intervention before cancer surgery: a pilot randomised controlled trial.
AU - Declan T Hennessy
AU - Anna Wong Shee
AU - Jonathan C Rawstorn
AU - Luke Evans
AU - Stephen Brown
AU - Matthew P Wallen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
DO - 10.1007/s00520-026-11356-9
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42905213
AB - Purpose The study aimed to assess the feasibility and safety of an exercise-based prehabilitation intervention and explore preliminary clinical outcomes in breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer patients awaiting surgery in a large regional healthcare service.Methods Patients with breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer scheduled for surgery were recruited at a single study centre and randomised (1:1) to prehabilitation or usual care. The intervention involved supervised aerobic exercise training 2-3 days per week before surgery. Usual care involved standard cancer treatment. Feasibility was assessed through recruitment, attendance, adherence, and attrition rates. Safety was evaluated via adverse event monitoring. Exploratory analyses evaluated group-by-time changes in cardiorespiratory fitness, health-related quality of life, and fatigue from baseline to the pre-surgery and post-surgery assessment timepoints, with 30-day post-operative outcomes (complications and length of stay) also collected.Results Of 47 potentially eligible patients approached and screened, 23 were recruited and randomised, and completed baseline assessments. Twenty participants (prehabilitation n = 11, usual care n = 9) completed the pre- and T1 and T2 assessments. Participants attended an average of 5.25 ± 2.16 prehabilitation sessions. Attendance, adherence, completeness, and attrition rates were 91.3%, 82.6%, 85.7%, and 13%, respectively. Five adverse events were recorded in the prehabilitation group (fatigue, n = 3; muscular pain in the extremities, n = 2); all were grade 1. No significant group-by-time interactions were observed for cardiorespiratory fitness, health-related quality of life, or fatigue.Conclusions Among participants who commenced prehabilitation, attendance, adherence, and completeness were 91.3%, 82.6%, and 85.7%, respectively. No serious adverse events were observed. Exploratory clinical outcome estimates were imprecise and did not support firm conclusions regarding intervention effectiveness. Recruitment limitations and the small heterogeneous sample also preclude broader conclusions regarding feasibility.
SN - 0941-4355
SN - 1433-7339
ER -