Prehabilitation in High-risk Oncologic Surgery

The goal of this clinical study is to learn whether a prehabilitation program can improve recovery after major abdominal surgery in adults with cancer who are receiving treatment before surgery. Prehabilitation is supportive care given before surgery to help patients prepare physically, nutritionally, and emotionally. The main questions this study aims to answer are: 1. Does prehabilitation reduce the number of participants who die or have serious complications within 30 days after surgery? 2. Does prehabilitation improve physical strength and fitness, nutritional status, emotional well-being, and quality of life before surgery? 3. Does prehabilitation affect the length of the hospital stay after surgery, the time it takes to start additional cancer treatment after surgery, or the ability to complete recommended additional treatment? Participants will take part in a prehabilitation program during their treatment period before surgery. The program includes visits with physical therapy, nutrition, and health psychology. Participants will meet with each specialty at least twice before surgery. They will also complete questionnaires and tests that measure physical function, diet and weight, emotional well-being, and quality of life. After surgery, information about recovery and additional cancer treatment will be collected from medical records for up to 120 days. Researchers will compare the outcomes of participants who receive the prehabilitation program with outcomes from similar patients who previously received care at Fox Chase Cancer Center but did not participate in this study.

NCT Number	NCT07638410
Lead Sponsor	Fox Chase Cancer Center
Conditions	Pancreatic Cancer, Colo-rectal Cancer, Gastric Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Bladder Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Abdominal Surgery Complications
Enrollment	180 participants
Start Date	2026-06-15
Primary Completion	2029-12-15 (estimated)
Study Completion	2030-03-15 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-06-11