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Review
. 2022 Oct 13;14(20):5017.
doi: 10.3390/cancers14205017.

Prehabilitation in Modern Colorectal Cancer Surgery: A Comprehensive Review

Augustinas Bausys  1   2   3 , Marius Kryzauskas  1 , Vilius Abeciunas  4 , Austeja Elzbieta Degutyte  4 , Rimantas Bausys  1   2 , Kestutis Strupas  1   3 , Tomas Poskus  1
Affiliations
Review

Prehabilitation in Modern Colorectal Cancer Surgery: A Comprehensive Review

Augustinas Bausys et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Colorectal cancer remains the third most prevalent cancer worldwide, exceeding 1.9 million new cases annually. Surgery continues to be the gold standard treatment option. Unfortunately, colorectal cancer surgery carries significant postoperative morbidity and mortality. Moreover, most rectal cancer patients and some patients with locally advanced colon cancer require preoperative neoadjuvant therapy. It improves long-term outcomes but impairs patients' physical fitness and thus further increases surgical risk. Recently, prehabilitation has gained interest as a novel strategy to reduce treatment-related morbidity for patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. However, the concept is still in its infancy, and the role of prehabilitation remains controversial. In this comprehensive review, we sum up present evidence on prehabilitation before colorectal cancer surgery. Available studies are very heterogenous in interventions and investigated outcomes. Nonetheless, all trials show at least some positive effects of prehabilitation on patients' physical, nutritional, or psychological status or even reduced postoperative morbidity. Unfortunately, the optimal prehabilitation program remains undetermined; therefore, this concept cannot be widely implemented. Future studies investigating optimal prehabilitation regimens for patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer are necessary.

Keywords: colon cancer; colorectal cancer; exercise; prehabilitation; rectal cancer; surgical outcomes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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