The Effectiveness of Exercise Rehabilitation or Prehabilitation in Cancer Survivors: A Protocol for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Background In cancer, rehabilitation or prehabilitation interventions that improve cardiorespiratory fitness or exercise capacity are emerging as potentially effective for improving overall treatment outcomes. This systematic review protocol outlines a structure to evaluate best available trial evidence by assessing methodological quality and risk of bias of the evidence base, and conducting a meta-analysis using VO₂ max, the 6-Minute Walk Test and resource intensity of various clinical approaches. Objectives • Identify, synthesise and assess the best available evidence from randomised controlled trials on the effectiveness of exercise rehabilitation or prehabilitation in improving VO₂-Max and 6MWT distance among adults with cancer • Examine how differences in intervention design (e.g. unimodal vs multimodal exercise interventions), underlying population characteristics and resource-use intensity influence observed outcomes, through a meta-analysis. • Highlight the economic considerations that feed into program design and implementation for such interventions. Registration PROSPERO (CRD420261336025, 25 March 2026).