NCT07478185

Prehab for Pancreatic Cancer Surgery

Multimodal Prehabilitation Prior to Pancreatic Cancer Surgery: A Pilot Study

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 20 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Massachusetts, Worcester · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this clinical study is to test whether a structured prehabilitation program can be successfully used by adults with pancreatic cancer who are receiving chemotherapy before planned surgery. Prehabilitation is a program designed to improve a person's physical fitness, nutrition, and symptom control before surgery. The study's main hypothesis is that patients with pancreatic cancer can take part in and adhere to a multimodal prehabilitation program during chemotherapy, and that doing so may improve physical function, patient experience, and early recovery after surgery.

Detailed description

This is a single-center, prospective pilot study designed to evaluate the implementation of a standardized, multimodal prehabilitation program delivered during neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to pancreatic cancer surgery. The intervention is integrated into routine preoperative care and includes coordinated physical activity, nutritional optimization, and supportive care components delivered throughout the neoadjuvant treatment period. Assessments are performed at baseline, after completion of the prehabilitation period and before surgery, and approximately one month after surgery to characterize participation, intervention delivery, and perioperative changes in functional and clinical measures. Data collection includes standardized functional fitness assessments, patient-reported surveys, and abstraction of perioperative clinical data from the electronic medical record. Analyses are descriptive and exploratory, reflecting the pilot nature of the study, and are intended to characterize feasibility, adherence, and variability of measured outcomes rather than to test efficacy. Findings from this study will be used to refine intervention delivery, identify logistical and patient-level barriers, and inform the design of future larger-scale studies evaluating prehabilitation in pancreatic cancer surgery.

Conditions

• Pancreatic Cancer, Adult
• Prehabilitation

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Multimodal Prehabilitation	Participants will receive a structured, multimodal prehabilitation program delivered during neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to planned pancreatic cancer surgery. The program integrates supervised, individualized exercise training, nutritional assessment and counseling with recommended preoperative immunonutrition, and supportive care focused on symptom management and functional support. Prehabilitation is delivered as an integrated component of preoperative care and continues through completion of neoadjuvant therapy until surgery.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-03-31
• Primary completion: 2028-02-01
• Completion: 2028-12-01
• First posted: 2026-03-17
• Last updated: 2026-04-03

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States