BACKGROUND: Surgical management remains the cornerstone of treatment for many cancers, but is associated with a high rate of postoperative complications, which are linked to poor preoperative functional capacity. Prehabilitation may have beneficial effects on functional capacity and postoperative outcomes. We evaluated the effects of prehabilitation combining endurance and resistance training (CT) on physical fitness, quality of life (QoL) and postoperative outcomes in cancer patients undergoing tumour resection surgery. METHODS: We performed a literature search in PubMed, PEDro, EMBASE (via Scopus) and the Cochrane library for clinical trials until September 2017. Randomised controlled trials investigating the effects of CT in adult cancer patients undergoing surgery were included when at least one of the following outcomes was reported: physical capacity, muscle strength, QoL, length of stay (LOS), postoperative complications and mortality. RESULTS: Ten studies (360 patients) were retrieved and included patients with lung, colorectal, bladder and oesophageal cancer. No adverse effects of CT were reported. Compared with the control group, CT improved physical capacity (3 of 5 studies), muscle strength (2 of 3 studies) and some domains of QoL (2 of 4 studies), shortened LOS (1 of 6 studies) and reduced postoperative pulmonary complications (2 of 6 studies). CONCLUSIONS: The benefits of CT in cancer population are demonstrated. CT may improve physical fitness and QoL and decrease LOS and postoperative pulmonary complications. However, our conclusions are limited by the heterogeneity of the preoperative CT programs, patient characteristics and measurement tools. Future research is required to determine the optimal composition of CT.