Prehabilitation in cancer care: an evolving field - Takeaways - MDSpire

Prehabilitation in cancer care: an evolving field

  • By

  • Christopher Gaffney

  • Jessica Gorzelitz

  • Jack Reeves

  • Daniel Steffens

  • June 26, 2026

  • 0 min

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  • 1

    Prehabilitation optimizes patients' physical, nutritional, and psychological conditions before cancer treatment to enhance recovery and reduce complications.

  • 2

    Only 21% of hospitals globally offer prehabilitation to all cancer patients, with funding issues being the primary barrier, especially in low-income regions.

  • 3

    A network meta-analysis indicated that exercise-based and nutritional prehabilitation can reduce complications and improve recovery in cancer patients.

  • 4

    Higher-risk patients, particularly those with frailty or poor functional capacity, are most likely to benefit from tailored prehabilitation programs.

  • 5

    The evidence for prehabilitation effectiveness in non-surgical oncology contexts, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, remains underdeveloped.

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