ArticlePerioperative medicine (London, England)2021
The effects of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and an in-hospital exercise training programme on physical fitness and quality of life in locally advanced rectal cancer patients: a randomised controlled trial (The EMPOWER Trial).
Article in Perioperative medicine (London, England), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 7 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 14 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Pilot Study to Investigate Improvements in Physical Fitness and Quality of Life Resulting From a 9 Week Structured Responsive Endurance Training Programme (SRETP) Following Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy Prior to Elective Rectal Cancer Surgery
A Pragmatic Factorial Design Randomised Controlled Study to Assess the Efficacy of the Implementation of a Prehabilitation Programme in Patients Undergoing Elective Major Intra - Cavity Cancer Surgery in Wessex
A Single Arm Feasibility Study of Exercise for Improving Long-course Chemoradiotherapy Efficacy in People With Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
A Single Arm Feasibility Study of Exercise for Improving Short-course Radiotherapy Efficacy in People Diagnosed With Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
Does Prehabilitation be Able to Favorably Impact on the Pathway of Head and Neck Cancer Patients, Candidate to Surgery or Chemoradiotherapy as Primary Treatment? A Prospective Clinical Trial
The Immuno-FIT Observational Study: A Phase II Window Observational Study Investigating the Effects of Immunotherapy on Cardiopulmonary Fitness, Quality of Life, and Treatment Outcomes in Patients With Advanced Cancer
A Pilot, Single-Arm, Prospective Study Assessing Feasibility and Safety of a Supervised Progressive Resistance Training Program During Total NeoadjuvantTherapy (RAPIDO) Until Surgery in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- The impact of exercise interventions before, during, and following neoadjuvant therapies for locally advanced rectal cancer: a critical review.Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden) · 2026Pooled it
- Rationales for Prehabilitation Programs in Patients Preparing for Oncologic Surgery: A Systematic Review.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effect of home-based exercise prehabilitation on postoperative outcomes in colorectal cancer surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of exercise by type and duration on quality of life in patients with digestive system cancers: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.Journal of sport and health science · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of Preoperative Lifestyle Management and Prehabilitation on Postoperative Capability of Colorectal Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- Effects of exercise during and after neoadjuvant chemoradiation on symptom burden and quality of life in rectal cancer patients: a phase II randomized controlled trial.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2023Trial
- Prehabilitation for patients undergoing neoadjuvant treatment: results of a single-center pilot study using an integrative medicine day clinic.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Correction: The effects of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and an in-hospital exercise training programme on physical fitness and quality of life in locally advanced rectal cancer patients: a randomised controlled trial (The EMPOWER Trial).Perioperative medicine (London, England) · 2025Article
- Care of the immunocompromised cancer patient in the perioperative period: Narrative review.Indian journal of anaesthesia · 2025Review
- Physical fitness and body composition assessments in advanced cancer patients undergoing exenterative surgery - A pilot cohort study.Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland · 2025Article
- Considerations for Care of the Cancer Patient.International anesthesiology clinics · 2025Article
- Individualised Exercise Training Enhances Antioxidant Buffering Capacity in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Baseline Quality of Life of Physical Function Is Highly Relevant for Overall Survival in Advanced Rectal Cancer.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
16 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe EMPOWER trial aimed to assess the effects of a 9-week exercise prehabilitation programme on physical fitness compared with a usual care control group. Secondary aims were to investigate the effect of (1) the exercise prehabilitation programme on psychological health; and (2) neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) on physical fitness and psychological health.
methodsBetween October 2013 and December 2016, adults with locally advanced rectal cancer undergoing standardised NCRT and surgery were recruited to a multi-centre trial. Patients underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and completed HRQoL questionnaires (EORTC-QLQ-C30 and EQ-5D-5L) pre-NCRT and post-NCRT (week 0/baseline). At week 0, patients were randomised to exercise prehabilitation or usual care (no intervention). CPET and HRQoL questionnaires were assessed at week 0, 3, 6 and 9, whilst semi-structured interviews were assessed at week 0 and week 9. Changes in oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold (VO
resultsThirty-eight patients were recruited, mean age 64 (10.4) years. Of the 38 patients, 33 were randomised: 16 to usual care and 17 to exercise prehabilitation (26 males and 7 females). Exercise prehabilitation significantly improved VO
conclusionA 9-week exercise prehabilitation programme significantly improved fitness following NCRT. These findings have informed the WesFit trial (NCT03509428) which is investigating the effects of community-based multimodal prehabilitation before cancer surgery.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01914068 . Registered 1 August 2013.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.