HOPE – A Study to Evaluate the Effect of a Prehabilitation Program on GI Cancer Patients Planning to Undergo Surgery

Cancer patients often develop protein calorie malnutrition, inflammatory states, and loss of lean muscle mass, which can be best categorized as frailty. Frailty affects global health, the ability to carry out normal functions, and even the ability to tolerate targeted curative treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. The Investigators evaluate frailty, and design a study to evaluate the outcomes of the administration of multimodal preoperative prehabilitation programs on those frailty markers. Previous data provides support for interventions that include:

Improved protein rich nutrition with specific immunonutrition recommendations,
Treatment of maldigestion or pancreatic insufficiency in pancreatic, gastric, or esophageal cancer patients,
Brief, evidence-based activity interventions such as walking and inspiratory muscle training (IMT), and
Disease specific education

These interventions should improve frailty by maintaining or regaining weight, improved grip strength, and improved prealbumin. These markers indicate improvements in nutritional status, increased strength and ability to ambulate, and improved functional status in the preoperative period. Other outcomes that will be reported include fat-soluble vitamin levels, global health, and inflammation.

The preoperative period is the best time to facilitate patient engagement through self-care and proactive activity. Interventions must be easy to accomplish and structured so patients have accountability and both patients and clinicians have methods and tools for measuring progress. Most patients and family members are motivated at this time and understand the need to improve frailty and potentially improve global health.