Protocol for the REBOUND study: a cohort study to uncover fundamental mechanisms of accelerated ageing and impaired resilience following cancer surgery and treatment

BACKGROUND: Ageing is a heterogeneous process, which is associated with heterogeneous resilience in older people. Cancer surgery and treatment may be associated with accelerated ageing in some older people; studying this process will improve understanding to enable treatments to prevent adverse effects on physical and cognitive function. METHODS: This study will recruit 172 participants aged 65 years and older scheduled to undergo elective colorectal surgery for cancer from two hospital sites (Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust). Assessments will be performed preoperatively, days 1-3 postoperatively, 30 days postoperatively, and 90 days postoperatively. These will include in-depth clinical phenotyping including handgrip strength, Short Physical Performance Battery, muscle ultrasound, cognitive tests, Electroencephalography, questionnaires including quality of life, and physical activity using remote devices. Serial blood and stool specimens will be collected across timepoints to measure underlying hallmarks of ageing including inflammation, dysbiosis, macroautophagy, cellular senescence(definition), epigenetic alterations, mitochondrial dysfunction(definition), and stem cell exhaustion. A machine learning approach will be utilised to evaluate the associations between trajectories in clinical and physiological parameters and fundamental biological processes. DISCUSSION: This study represents an exciting collaboration between clinicians, fundamental scientists, and experts in machine learning. It offers the opportunity to characterise and understand complex pathways to enable future clinical trials directed towards the prevention of accelerated ageing through a stratified medicine approach.