Trial reportJournal of primary care & community health
Optimizing Physical Fitness Before Colorectal Cancer Surgery (CANOPTIPHYS): The Effect of Preoperative Exercise on Pre- and Postoperative Physical Fitness in Older people - A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Journal of primary care & community health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04878185 (Optimizing Physical Function Before Surgery), which is not on this map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Optimizing Physical Function Before Surgery: Effects on Complications and Physical Function After Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery in Older People at Risk- A Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- 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
- Sarcopenia interventions targeted at improving muscle health in adults with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Prehabilitation in patients with low physical fitness undergoing colorectal cancer surgery: a scoping review.BJA open · 2026Review
- Clinical Effectiveness and Safety of Multimodal Prehabilitation in Colorectal Cancer Surgery-A Narrative State-of-the-Art Review of Research and Clinical Trials.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Navigating long-term patient-reported outcomes after colorectal cancer surgery in older adults: ostomy, nutritional status, and living conditions as determinants in a prospective cohort study.International journal of colorectal disease · 2026Observational
- Effects of Exercise-Based Prehabilitation on Functional Capacity in Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery: A Network Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Multicomponent prehabilitation and perioperative care in older persons with frailty referred to planned orthopaedic surgery: A feasibility study.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION/
objectiveSurgery-induced losses in physical fitness may have detrimental consequences for patients with low reserve capacity at start. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of preoperative exercise on physical fitness in older patients with low physical fitness scheduled for colorectal cancer surgery.
methodsIn this randomized, controlled trial, patients ≥65 years of age, who were scheduled for colorectal cancer surgery were included if they had a low maximal walking speed. Exercise for 2 to 3 weeks before surgery was home-based, high-intensity, and partly supervised by a primary care physiotherapist. The intervention consisted of inspiratory muscle training, aerobic, and strength exercises. A control group underwent usual preoperative care. Physical fitness was assessed with the 6-min walk test (primary outcome), the 30-s chair stand test and maximal inspiratory pressure which estimates inspiratory muscle strength (secondary outcomes). The effect of preoperative exercise on these outcomes before and after surgery was analyzed with linear mixed-models for the 6-min walk test and maximal inspiratory pressure and with a non-parametric Friedman rank sum test for the 30-s chair stand test. To evaluate adherence, physical activity was measured and compared for both groups.
resultsA total of 52 participants were included. Analyses showed a statistically significant effect of preoperative exercise on postoperative inspiratory muscle strength. We did not find an effect of preoperative exercise on 6-min walk test or 30-s chair stand test performance. Regarding preoperative physical activity, the intervention group engaged more in high-intensity physical activity in relation to their total stepping time compared to the control group.
conclusionsShort-term exercise before colorectal cancer surgery can provide benefits in terms of increased postoperative inspiratory muscle strength in older patients with low physical fitness. While we could not demonstrate an effect of preoperative exercise on any other outcomes, these results should be interpreted with caution due to a small sample size.
trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov, identification number: NCT04878185, URL: Study Details | Optimizing Physical Function Before Cancer Surgery in Older People at Risk | ClinicalTrials.gov.
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