Age-related trends in colorectal cancer diagnosis: focus on evaluation of prehabilitation and rehabilitation programs

Abstract

The increase in the prevalence of both colon and rectal cancer in recent years poses challenges for the medical system in terms of patient management and indirectly incurs significant finan-cial burdens. Purpose: The aim of this paper is to track the changes in the prevalance of the co-lon and rectal cancer at a tertiary clinic in Romania over time and to identify complementary methods to improve the prognosis and quality of life of cancer patients. Material and methods: We conducted an observational, longitudinal, population-based study, including all patients newly diagnosed with colon or rectal neoplasia within the time frame from 1 January 2013 to 1 January 2024 in a tertiary medical clinic in Romania. For each case included in the study, we gathered demographic data (age at the time of cancer diagnosis, gender, place of origin), loca-tion of the tumor, duration until surgical intervention, alternative treatment methods em-ployed (such as radiation or chemotherapy, and immunotherapy), and the length of survival. We also assess the feasiblity of physical prehabilitation and rehabilitation programs for inpa-tients diagnosed with malignant neoplasms of the colon or rectum. Results: The study found significant differences in patient ages and the execution of prehabilitation and rehabilitation practices between those admitted for colon and rectal cancer during the periods 2013-2018 and 2019-2023, with a notable shift in the prevalence of colon versus rectal cancer over these peri-ods. Conclusions: Prehabilitation and rehabilitation practices for colorectal cancer patients are underdocumented or suboptimal, with recent improvements in documentation, especially for rectal cancer due to colostomy needs, and an observed increase in patient age due to COVID-19 pandemic protocols. Additional research and the development of standardized protocols are needed.

Keywords

• rehabilitation programs
• cancer
• prehabilitation
• personalized physical prehabilitation