Geriatric prehabilitation prior to surgery for kidney tumors: Study protocol for Pre-KiT - A randomized controlled trial

Introduction Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) primarily affects older adults who often present with frailty, increasing their risk of surgical complications and delayed recovery. Prehabilitation, incorporating exercise, nutrition, and psychological support, may improve postoperative outcomes. However, no studies have investigated prehabilitation prior to surgery for RCC. The aim is to assess whether a one-month multimodal prehabilitation program including geriatric interventions improves recovery in patients with frailty undergoing surgery for localized RCC ≤ 7 cm. Materials and methods 60 patients, aged ≥65, with a Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) score of 3–6 are randomized 1:1 to standard care or prehabilitation involving home-based exercise, geriatric assessment with tailored interventions, and smoking cessation support. The primary outcome is change in Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) 21 days postoperatively. Secondary outcomes include changes in QoR-15, health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L) and physical performance (30-s chair-stand test, handgrip strength) assessed preoperatively, 1, 21 and 90 days postoperatively. Postoperative complications will be evaluated using the Clavien-Dindo classification, alongside a cost-effectiveness analysis. Long-term outcomes include 1- and 5-year recurrence-free, cancer-specific, and overall survival. Discussion Pre-KiT explores if a pragmatic geriatric prehabilitation strategy is effective and feasible for older frail patients with RCC. The intervention is designed for easy implementation in clinical practice: administered by a single healthcare professional, requiring only one additional hospital visit, and consists of home-based exercises. This low-resource approach also aims to minimize financial costs, which is of importance for implementation possibilities. If successful, it could improve standard care and outcomes after surgery. Trial registration : ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT06745609 . Prospectively registered December 12th, 2024.