SynthesisFrontiers in oncology2026
Prehabilitation to reduce postoperative complications in frail and elderly patients with gastrointestinal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Elderly and frail patients with gastrointestinal cancer are at significantly increased risk of postoperative complications. The effectiveness of preoperative prehabilitation in this high-risk population requires synthesis of the existing evidence. Objective: To evaluate the impact of preoperative prehabilitation on the incidence of postoperative complications in elderly (≥60 years) and frail patients with gastrointestinal cancer through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science from January 2020 to November 2025. Randomized controlled trials comparing prehabilitation with usual care were included. The primary outcome was the incidence of overall postoperative complications. Risk ratios were pooled using a random-effects model. Risk of bias was assessed using the ROB 2.0 tool. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on intervention duration (≥4 weeks vs. <4 weeks), surgery type (colorectal vs. other), and frailty status. Results: Nine randomized controlled trials involving 1027 patients were included. The meta-analysis showed that prehabilitation significantly reduced the risk of postoperative complications (risk ratio [RR] = 0.67, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.46 to 0.99, p = 0.04), with low heterogeneity among studies (I² = 24%). Subgroup analyses indicated a greater trend towards risk reduction in frail patients (RR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.24 to 1.16), as well as in interventions lasting <4 weeks (RR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.30-0.99) and in patients undergoing non-colorectal surgery (RR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.30-0.99). However, differences between all subgroups were not statistically significant (p for interaction > 0.05). Conclusion: Current evidence suggests that preoperative prehabilitation reduces postoperative complication risk in elderly patients undergoing gastrointestinal cancer surgery. While the effect is clear in the overall population, the trend suggesting potentially greater benefit in specifically frail patients requires confirmation in future larger, specifically designed trials. Integrating prehabilitation into the clinical pathway for this high-risk population is warranted. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD420251275161.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.