SynthesisBJS open2025
Effect of prehabilitation on postoperative outcomes in patients with upper gastrointestinal tract cancer: meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BJS open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Multimodal prehabilitation for upper gastrointestinal tumors: effects on postoperative morbidity and mortality - a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Pathology oncology research : POR · 2026Pooled it
- Letter to the Editor: Preoperative Weight Loss in Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery-Toward Decision-grade Practice.Journal of gastrointestinal cancer · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe aim of this meta-analysis was to elucidate the effects of prehabilitation (PR) on outcomes after surgery for upper gastrointestinal tract cancer.
methodsPubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched from inception up to 21 May 2024 for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and cohort studies investigating PR interventions in patients with upper gastrointestinal tract cancer. Data were synthesized using standardized mean differences (SMDs) and risk ratios (RRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were used to examine the robustness of the results and find possible sources of heterogeneity. Statistical analyses were performed using Review Manager 5.4 and Stata 16.0.
resultsEight RCTs and eight cohort studies were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with the control group (no PR), the PR group had a significantly shorter postoperative length of hospital stay (SMD -0.27; 95% confidence interval (c.i.) -0.47 to -0.07; P = 0.008), a significant reduction in the occurrence of pneumonia after the surgery (RR 0.71; 95% c.i. 0.50 to 1.00; P = 0.005), and a greater improvement in the 6-minute walk distance (SMD 0.95; 95% c.i. 0.68 to 1.22; P < 0.00001). However, there were no significant differences between the control and PR groups in overall postoperative complications, anastomotic leakage, overall pulmonary complications, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, wound infection rate, in-hospital mortality, or recurrence rate (all P > 0.05).
conclusionFor the population with upper gastrointestinal tract cancer, PR can partially lower the risk of postoperative pneumonia and promote faster postoperative recovery. Given the inherent limitations in the included studies, more large-scale RCTs are needed to verify these findings.
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Registered trials
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