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Tongue pressure, respiratory muscle and limb strength and functional exercise capacity in oesophageal cancer
  1. Takuya Fukushima1,
  2. Makoto Yamasaki2,
  3. Nobuyuki Yamamoto2,
  4. Yasuaki Arima3,
  5. Takashi Harino2,
  6. Soshi Hori2,
  7. Yuki Hashimoto2,
  8. Masaya Kotsuka2,
  9. Kentaro Inoue2,
  10. Kimitaka Hase4 and
  11. Jiro Nakano1
  1. 1 Faculty of Rehabilitation, Kansai Medical University, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
  2. 2 Department of Surgery, Kansai Medical University, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
  3. 3 Department of Rehabilitation, Kansai Medical University Hospital, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
  4. 4 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Kansai Medical University, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
  1. Correspondence to Takuya Fukushima; fukustak{at}makino.kmu.ac.jp

Abstract

Objectives Preoperative management of oesophageal cancer requires effective prehabilitation. This study investigates the relationship between tongue pressure, respiratory muscle, handgrip and lower limb muscle strengths, and functional exercise capacity in patients with oesophageal cancer to develop a novel prehabilitation strategy.

Methods This prospective, single-centre, observational study analysed data from 29 pretreatment patients with oesophageal cancer. We evaluated tongue pressure, maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures, handgrip and lower limb muscle strengths, functional exercise capacity and dysphagia scores before treatment. The relationship between parameters was identified using Spearman’s correlation analysis.

Results Maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures were significantly associated with handgrip and lower extremity muscle strengths and functional exercise capacity. However, tongue pressure was not associated with maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures, handgrip and lower extremity muscle strengths and functional exercise capacity. Rather, tongue pressure was significantly associated with clinical T, dysphagia and nutritional status scores.

Conclusions Respiratory muscle strength was associated with conventional sarcopenia and functional exercise capacity. Tongue pressure was not associated with respiratory muscle strength, conventional sarcopenia and functional exercise capacity. Rather, tongue pressure was associated with clinical T, dysphagia and nutritional status scores. Preoperative management of oesophageal cancer requires prehabilitation consisting of exercise and nutritional therapy and an additional swallowing programme, such as tongue resistance training, for patients without progress in oral intake, based on tongue pressure evaluation.

  • Gastrointestinal (upper)
  • Palliative Care
  • Rehabilitation
  • Supportive care

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. The data supporting this study’s findings are available upon request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy reasons.

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Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. The data supporting this study’s findings are available upon request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy reasons.

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Footnotes

  • Contributors TF, MY, NY and JN contributed to the study conception and design. TF, MY, NY, YA, TH, SH, YH, MK, KI and KH prepared the materials and collected the data. TF analysed the data. TF, MY and JN wrote the first draft of the manuscript, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. TF is the guarantor.

  • Funding This study was supported in part by the Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research in Japan and JSPS KAKENHI (Grant No 22K17603).

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.