Structured exercise program prior to major cancer surgery improves cardiopulmonary fitness: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Purpose: To determine if cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) was useful in predicting response to exercise in cancer patients preoperatively. A secondary aim was to explore if exercise was associated with improved postoperative outcomes. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed on consecutive cancer patients from 2012 to 2014, referred for exercise prehabilitation and had two CPET preoperatively. Results: Twenty-six patients were analysed. There was a significant overall increase in oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold (AT) from 10.4 to 11.6 ml kg−1 min−1 (ΔAT = 1.2 ± 3.0 ml kg−1 min−1 [9 %]; p = 0.046); peak oxygen uptake (pVO2) from 16.0 to 17.7 ml kg−1 min−1 (ΔpVO2 = 1.7 ± ..