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Effectiveness of perioperative rehabilitation and nutrition in esophageal cancer: a narrative review
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Ryoma Haneda, Yuki Sakai, Kenichi Sekimori, Tomohiro Murakami, Eisuke Booka, Tomohiro Matsumoto, Hirotoshi Kikuchi, Yoshihiro Hiramatsu, Hiroya Takeuchi
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Published online February 23, 2026
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15747/ACNM.25.0021
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 Abstract
- Purpose
Esophageal cancer surgery requires robust perioperative management to reduce its high rate of complications. This review evaluates the clinical utility of comprehensive exercise and nutritional therapy, with a specific focus on initiatives led by the multidisciplinary Hamamatsu Perioperative Care Team (HOPE), established at Hamamatsu University Hospital to optimize patient safety and postoperative recovery outcomes.
Current concept
The HOPE protocol involves a diverse team, including surgeons, nurses, pharmacists, and dietitians, who collaboratively implement a multifaceted perioperative care bundle. These interventions include strict smoking cessation, intensive oral care, and immunonutrition incorporating n-3 fatty acids. A distinctive feature of this program is the integration of patient-reported treatment diaries and wearable fitness tracking devices (WFTs) to visualize daily activity, thereby helping to sustain patient motivation. Preoperative rehabilitation focuses on preventing sarcopenia through combined aerobic and resistance training, while postoperative care emphasizes immediate enteral nutrition and early mobilization. Retrospective analyses demonstrated that HOPE implementation reduced Clavien-Dindo grade III or higher infectious complications, pneumonia and surgical site infections, compared with historical controls. In addition, a propensity score–matched analysis showed that WFT users experienced lower pneumonia rates, shorter hospital stays, and better preservation of nutritional markers, including albumin and transthyretin, during the recovery phase compared with non-users.
Conclusion
The HOPE strategy illustrates that combining standard nutritional support and exercise therapy with digital tools enables individualized rehabilitation. This integrated approach reduces morbidity and preserves function, strongly suggesting that incorporation of wearable technology into established surgical care protocols represents a strategy for improving long-term outcomes in high-risk cancer patients.
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