Researchers will investigate whether prehabilitation—combining exercise, nutrition, and psychological support—can improve recovery and reduce complications in patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery, according to an ongoing systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.

While prehabilitation has shown efficacy in improving postoperative outcomes in other cancer types, its role in gastric cancer surgery has yet to be fully established. This study seeks to evaluate whether prehabilitation can reduce postoperative complications and expedite recovery in this patient population.

The study protocol, published in BMJ Open, outlined a systematic review and meta-analysis that will build on previous research, which has demonstrated that prehabilitation in esophagogastric cancer surgery was associated with reductions in overall complications (relative risk [RR] = 0.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.66–0.93, P = .006), pulmonary complications (RR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.47–0.79, P = .0002), and severe complications (RR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.47–0.84, P = .002), as well as a shorter hospital stay by 1.92 days (mean difference = −1.92, 95% CI = −3.11 to −0.73, P = .002).

The researchers will conduct a comprehensive review of randomized controlled trials and cohort studies, with primary outcomes including overall postoperative complications and length of hospital stay. Secondary outcomes will focus on mortality, readmission rates, and functional recovery. Data will be sourced from multiple databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database. Study screening will be performed by two independent reviewers, and data analysis will be carried out using Cochrane Review Manager software.

The review will aim to evaluate the potential benefits of prehabilitation in patients undergoing gastric cancer resection, where surgical intervention is associated with notable postoperative morbidity and mortality. This review will assess whether incorporating prehabilitation could improve recovery and reduce complications in this context. The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication and shared at academic conferences.

The authors have no declared conflicts of interest.