MedPath

Prehabilitation to Improve Cancer Surgery Outcomes

Not Applicable
Conditions
Prehabilitation
Surgery
Physical Activity
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Interventions
Behavioral: Physical Prehabilitation
Behavioral: Psychological Prehabilitation
Registration Number
NCT03502317
Lead Sponsor
Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada
Brief Summary

This is a randomized control trial aiming to investigate the use of a prehabilitation regimen for patients undergoing major GI cancer surgery and its effects on measurements of HRQOL, LOS, and post-operative complications. Participants will be randomized to either the Prehabilitation arm or the Usual Care arm (control group). The Prehabilitation arm will be prescribed both physical and psychological prehabilitation prior to undergoing surgery for their GI cancer. The Usual Care arm will be counseled to continue their current level of activity and given the information on exercise as outlined in the Cancer Care Ontario guidelines. Participants in the Usual Care arm will also be given the same activity tracker as patients in the Prehabilitation arm in order to eliminate the activity tracker as an intervention itself. Clinical, patient-reported outcomes and health system outcomes will be evaluated. Outcomes will be measured at consent (baseline), immediately preoperatively, and postoperatively at 1, 3 and 6 months. The investigators will collect measures of recruitment, attrition and self-reported compliance via a log completed by the coordinator during weekly patient phone calls.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
128
Inclusion Criteria
  • ≥ 18 years of age
  • Fluent in English
  • Able to comply with study procedures & follow-up contained within the consent form
  • Pathologically or radiologically confirmed diagnosis of a GI cancer
  • GI cancer must be considered operable
  • Expected LOS ≥ 5 days as calculated by the validated American College of Surgeons Surgical Risk Calculator
  • > 21 days between time of randomization and time of expected surgery
  • Patient written, informed consent obtained according to ICH GCP guidelines and local regulations
Exclusion Criteria
  • < 18 years old

  • Not fluent in English

  • Planned resection of bony pelvis, limbs, or major lower extremity neurovascular structures

  • Significant comorbidity including any of the following:

    • Canadian Cardiovascular Society class III/IV coronary disease
    • New York Heart Association class III/IV congestive heart failure
    • Neurologic or musculoskeletal disorder prohibiting exercise
    • Major neuropsychiatric disorder

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Prehabilitation Study ArmPhysical PrehabilitationPatients will participate in a two-pronged prehabilitation strategy - physical prehabilitation and psychological prehabilitation. Prehabilitation will last from a minimum of 21 days to a maximum of 42 days before a patient's clinically indicated surgery.
Prehabilitation Study ArmPsychological PrehabilitationPatients will participate in a two-pronged prehabilitation strategy - physical prehabilitation and psychological prehabilitation. Prehabilitation will last from a minimum of 21 days to a maximum of 42 days before a patient's clinically indicated surgery.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Global Health ScoreBaseline to postoperative day 90

The primary outcome is the difference between the baseline and 90-day global health score on the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLC-C30

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Presence and severity of postoperative complicationsPostoperatively through to day 30 and day 90

The presence and severity of postoperative complications at 30 and 90 days will be recorded from the patient's medical records

Changes in health-related quality of life from baselineBaseline, immediately preoperatively, and postoperatively at 1, 3, and 6 months

HRQOL will be measured using the EQ-5D Health Questionnaire

Presence and severity of symptomsBaseline, immediately preoperatively, and postoperatively at 1, 3, and 6 months

The presence and severity of nine common symptoms in cancer patients will be examined using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS). This self-report measure examines: pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, appetite, wellbeing, and shortness of breath.

Postoperative hospital length of stayLength of stay will be calculated from the date of surgery until to the date of discharge from the hospital, reported in days, assessed up to 6 months postoperatively.

The patient's postoperative length of stay will be recorded from the medical records

Changes in functional capacity from baselineBaseline, immediately preoperatively, and postoperatively at 1, 3, and 6 months

Patients will perform a 6-Minute Walk Test.

Changes in self-reported physical activity from baselineBaseline, immediately preoperatively, and postoperatively at 1, 3, and 6 months

Changes in self-reported physical activity will be measured using the Godin Leisure-time Exercise Questionnaire

Changes in anxiety and depression from baselineBaseline, immediately preoperatively, and postoperatively at 1, 3, and 6 months

Changes in anxiety and depression will be examined using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). HADS assesses anxiety and depression through self-reporting based on the frequency of symptoms over the past week. There are 2 subscales, one for anxiety and for depression, each with 7 items. Items are scored on a 4 point Likert scale (0-3), with the subscale scores being sums of each item (0-21). A higher score is indicative of higher or worse anxiety and depression.

Changes in fatigue from baselineBaseline, immediately preoperatively, and postoperatively at 1, 3, and 6 months

Changes in cancer-specific fatigue will be assessed using the 13-item Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F).

Interference with occupational performance and productivityBaseline, immediately preoperatively, and postoperatively at 1, 3, and 6 months

The degree to which the patient's health problems interfere with occupational performance and productivity will be examined using the Work Limitations Questionnaire

Changes in multidimensional social supportBaseline, immediately preoperatively, and postoperatively at 1, 3, and 6 months

Changes in the perceived availability of multidimensional social support will be evaluated using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale (MOS-SSS SF-20). The MOS-SSS SF-20 is a 20 item questionnaire that measures physical functioning, social functioning, mental health, current health perceptions, and pain. After reverse scoring of the appropriate items according to the MOS-SSS core scoring manual, a higher value indicates better functioning, health, and more pain in the respective measures. All measure scores are transformed linearly to scales from 0-100, with 100 being the highest score possible.

Health care utilizationpost-operatively at 3 and 6 months

Health care utilization will be assessed at the postoperative 3 and 6 month time points using the Health Service Utilization Inventory

Changes in attachment (closeness in relationships with others)Baseline, immediately preoperatively, and postoperatively at 1, 3, and 6 months

The Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR M16) will be used to examine adult attachment or closeness in both romantic and non-romantic relationships. There are two domains that are measured - attachment anxiety and avoidance. Each domain includes 8 items. Items are scored on a 7 point Likert Scale (1-7). After appropriate reverse scoring, a high score indicates higher attachment anxiety or avoidance.

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

University Health Network

🇨🇦

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Sinai Health System - Mount Sinai Hospital

🇨🇦

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

© Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved by MedPath