Prehabilitation in Esophageal Cancer Care

Prehabilitation to Enhance Functional Capacity in Esophageal Cancer Care

Prehabilitation utilizes the preoperative period to prevent or attenuate the treatment-related functional decline and its consequences. This project aims at testing feasibility and effectiveness of multimodal prehabilitation in esophageal cancer care.

While evidence on prehabilitation is mounting, upper gastrointestinal surgery still remains under-investigated. This trial aims to explore the effect of prehabilitation over the whole perioperative trajectory, including neo-adjuvant treatment (NAT).

Multimodal prehabilitation includes exercise, nutrition therapy, and mental distress coping strategies. In the context of a multimodal approach, the two groups follow different exercise prescriptions: high-intensity interval supervised training prescribed accordingly cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET)-derived variables, versus a home-based program. For both groups, multimodal prehabilitation is prescribed over the whole preoperative period, including during NAT.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients with non-metastatic esophageal cancer undergoing neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and surgery.

Exclusion Criteria:

• co-morbid medical, physical and mental conditions that contraindicate exercise or oral nutrition