Overview
The objective of this study is to determine the feasibility (main aim) and effectiveness (secondary aim) of a prehabilitation program in patients with head and neck cancer or liver cancer. Participating patients will participate in a 3-to-6 week rehabilitation program consisting of training and nutritional, smoking cessation and psychosocial counselling.
Description
In patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer (HNC) or liver cancer, (major) surgery is the standard of care. Nevertheless, surgery may result in complications that have a substantial impact on the physical and psychological state of the patient. Detrimental postoperative outcomes are influenced by unhealthy lifestyle behaviors such as a sedentary lifestyle, smoking and malnutrition. Prehabilitation programs focusing on these lifestyle aspects have been suggested as a promising intervention to improve pre- and postoperative outcomes. Therefore, the obective of this study is to determine the feasibility (main aim) and effectiveness (secondary aim) of a prehabilitation program in patients with HNC or liver cancer
This study concerns a prospective cohort study in 60 patients with HNC or liver cancer that participate in a 3 to 6-week pilot prehabilitation program consisting of training and nutritional, smoking cessation and psychosocial counselling.
Data on feasibility (program satisfaction, program compliance and percentage of patients willing to participate in the prehabilitation program) and effectiveness (e.g. complications, health status, compliance to healthy lifestyle) is collected at three time points (pre- and post the prehabilitation program and 30 days post-surgery).
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- Age ≥18 years
- Diagnosis of head and neck cancer or liver cancer
- Scheduled for surgery in Erasmus MC
- Provision of written informed consent
- Only patient with a waiting time of at least 3 weeks till surgery can participate in this study
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients that do not understand the Dutch language
- Patients with severe physical or psychological comorbidities that limit participation in the prehabilitation program
