{"id":7132,"date":"2026-10-08T08:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T06:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/?p=7132"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T10:28:16","slug":"pre-surgery-prehabilitation-can-improve-the-physical-condition-of-patients-with-localized-pancreatic-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/la-prehabilitacion-antes-de-la-cirugia-puede-mejorar-la-condicion-fisica-de-pacientes-con-cancer-de-pancreas-localizado\/","title":{"rendered":"Prehabilitation before surgery can improve the physical condition of patients with localized pancreatic cancer."},"content":{"rendered":"
Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

A study by the Puerta de Hierro University Hospital in Majadahonda, published Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise,<\/em> It notes that a prehabilitation program with supervised physical exercise can help patients with localized pancreatic cancer prepare for surgery. The program was associated with improvements in physical condition and quality of life for the patients, aspects that could favor a better recovery after the intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Training<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pancreatic cancer is a rare disease associated with high mortality rates, rapid progression, and often being diagnosed at an advanced stage. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy\u2014administered before surgery\u2014aims to shrink the tumor and increase the success of surgery, the primary option for these patients with a curative intent. However, not all patients are candidates for surgery, and the chemotherapy itself can worsen their physical condition before the operation, which can affect their recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A study by the Puerta de Hierro University Hospital in Majadahonda and the Arana Institute of Health Research Puerta de Hierro-Segovia (IDIPHISA), led by doctors Ana Ruiz Casado and Mar\u00eda Romero El\u00edas, has evaluated the feasibility and results of a prehabilitation program in patients with localized pancreatic cancer, PREPANC, before undergoing oncological surgery.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prehabilitation consists of a program designed to prepare physically and psychologically patients who are going to undergo surgery to ensure that they undergo it in the best possible conditions and thus promote their recovery after the intervention. The program designed by these authors is called trimodal, as it combines supervised physical exercise and training of the respiratory musculature, nutritional counseling, and psychological support during the period of chemotherapy before surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The participation of patients, one of the main challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until now, studies on prehabilitation in pancreatic cancer had been limited due to the low incidence of this tumor, the low rate of patients who can undergo surgery, and the aggressiveness of the disease. In addition, the complications associated with the tumor and its treatment can make it difficult to participate in these programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this study, 35 patients with non-metastatic pancreatic cancer were recruited; of these, 14 eventually completed the pre-habilitation program and 12 underwent surgery. Despite the demands of the program and the potential complications of the disease itself or of chemotherapy, the majority of the patients accepted to participate, showing an interest in actively engaging in the management of the disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program, which lasted for three years, included motivational strategies based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Theory of Self-Determination to strengthen the intention to participate, promote autonomous motivation, and facilitate sustained adherence in patients. Each session was different and, for approximately one hour, it combined aerobic, strength, and endurance exercises. Additionally, the program was complemented by nutritional and psychological support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adherence to the physical exercise program reached 100 % % among the patients who completed the intervention and attended at least two sessions with both the psychologist and the nutritionist, one at the beginning of the study and another before the surgery. In addition, the authors of this study also evaluated the factors that motivate patients to participate, the perceived effects they expressed during the program and which could explain the high percentage of attendance. These results will be part of another article, currently under review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, another success derived from the research led by Dr. Ana Ruiz was the creation of the Javier de la Rubia Cancer and Physical Exercise Association (ACANEF<\/a>). This non-profit association was founded by Javier de la Rubia, a patient with pancreatic cancer and one of the participants in the PREPANC project. His proposal was to promote regular physical exercise and to continue the program once the research had achieved its objectives, in order to improve the quality of life of patients with cancer at any stage of their treatment or recovery. To do this, they have a space and specialized staff close to the patient who supervise their training sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improvement in physical condition and quality of life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To assess the physical condition and quality of life of the patients, measurements were taken of various parameters before starting chemotherapy and before surgery. The results showed that the patients who had completed the program experienced significant improvements in their physical condition, reflected in muscle strength, fatigue, lung capacity, body composition, and quality of life. It was also observed that the patients who had abandoned the project (usually due to worsening of the disease or the development of metastases) generally had a worse physical condition than those who completed it. The authors emphasize the importance of adapting the prehabilitation to the needs and capabilities of each patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Towards more personalized interventions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results suggest that this intervention during the treatment of chemotherapy before surgery can be associated with clinically relevant improvements in the physical condition and quality of life of the patients. Although more studies are needed, evaluating these parameters before treatment can help identify those who are at higher risk of abandoning the program and design personalized intervention strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, exercise programs are not yet implemented in hospitals, so the will of patients and associations is fundamental in participation and the benefits observed in this type of interventions. Therefore, it is essential to adapt the program to the needs of the patients, placing them at the center of the program and providing individualized support throughout the entire process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference: Romero-El\u00edas M, Garc\u00eda-Gonz\u00e1lez D, Esteban Bosque I, Suarez Blazquez V, Vielba EJ, M\u00e9ndez-Otero M, Pueyo Rabanal A, Cea Soriano M, Ruiz-Casado A. Trimodal Prehabilitation with Supervised Exercise during Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Localized Pancreatic Cancer. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2026 May 1;58(5):1001-1011. doi: 10.1249\/MSS.0000000000003931<\/a>. Epub 2025 Mar 17. PMID: 41430738.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unidad de Cultura Cient\u00edfica e Innovaci\u00f3n Un estudio del Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda, publicado Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, se\u00f1ala que un programa de prehabilitaci\u00f3n con ejercicio f\u00edsico supervisado puede ayudar a los pacientes con c\u00e1ncer de p\u00e1ncreas localizado a prepararse para la cirug\u00eda. El programa se relacion\u00f3 con mejoras en […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7133,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_gspb_post_css":"#gspb_image-id-gsbp-b171337{text-align:center;height:auto}#gspb_image-id-gsbp-b171337 img{vertical-align:top;display:inline-block;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:100%;box-shadow:0 32px 48px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.15);border-top-left-radius:20px;border-top-right-radius:20px;border-bottom-right-radius:20px;border-bottom-left-radius:20px;width:800px;height:auto}@media (max-width:999.98px){#gspb_image-id-gsbp-b171337,#gspb_image-id-gsbp-b171337 img{height:auto}}@media (max-width:689.98px){#gspb_image-id-gsbp-b171337,#gspb_image-id-gsbp-b171337 img{height:auto}}","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-puerta-de-hierro-ccc","category-sin-categoria"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7132"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7136,"href":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7132\/revisions\/7136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigacionpuertadehierro.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}