Prehabilitation reduces early incontinence and improves QoL post-RP, but its effects on severity and erectile function remain unclear.
Prehabilitation significantly reduced the incidence of urinary incontinence at 1 month and 6 months after radical prostatectomy.
Prehabilitation did not significantly improve urinary incontinence severity at any postoperative follow-up time point.
Prehabilitation did not significantly improve erectile function at any postoperative follow-up time point.
Prehabilitation significantly improved quality of life within 3 months and 6 months after radical prostatectomy.
The systematic review and meta-analysis included 16 randomized controlled trials with a total of 1,542 participants.
This research synthesized results from 16 randomized controlled trials involving over 1,500 men who underwent radical prostatectomy (surgical removal of the prostate) for prostate cancer to determine whether prehabilitation — structured exercise or rehabilitation training completed before surgery — improves recovery outcomes. The study found that men who completed prehabilitation programs were significantly less likely to experience urinary incontinence (involuntary urine leakage) in the first month and at six months after surgery compared to those who did not. Prehabilitation also led to meaningfully better quality of life scores in the first three to six months following surgery. However, these benefits appeared to fade over time, with no statistically significant differences detected at the one-year mark. Despite the encouraging findings for early urinary control and quality of life, prehabilitation did not produce measurable improvements in how severe urinary incontinence was when it did occur, nor did it improve erectile function at any time point examined. The authors noted that the overall quality of the included studies was moderate, meaning the true effects could differ somewhat from what was measured. The pattern of results suggests that prehabilitation may help men recover more quickly in the short term, even if long-term outcomes ultimately converge between groups. This research suggests that incorporating structured prehabilitation programs before radical prostatectomy may offer meaningful short-term benefits for patients — particularly in reducing early urinary leakage and supporting quality of life during the initial recovery period. However, questions remain about which specific types of prehabilitation are most effective, why benefits appear to diminish by one year, and how to address erectile function recovery. Future research with larger, more standardized trials would help clarify these remaining uncertainties.
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Upload Your LabsWan W, Shen L, Chang Y, Jin X. (2026). The impact of prehabilitation on postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.. Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-026-11182-z