Type of Treatment Determines Quality of Life for Prostate Cancer Patients

Surgical treatment caused steepest decline in sexual function and urinary incontinence and radiation therapy resulted in decline in bowel function.

The type of treatments received by prostate cancer patients, decide their quality of life.

In the study of 5727 patients, sexual function declined with all treatment modalities, with the steepest decline after surgery. Open surgery to remove the prostate was linked with more decline than robotic surgery. Robotic surgery patients experienced a higher return of sexual function, approaching that of patients who received brachytherapy (radioactive implants) and radiation at 24 months. Urinary incontinence also declined the most for surgical patients, with robotic surgery patients improving slightly more than open surgery patients at 12 to 24 months.

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‘Prostate cancer patients who underwent robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) had a better return of sexual function compared to any other treatment modality at 24 months post-therapy.’

"We hope our patient-reported outcomes and the comprehensive data collection in this cancer registry study will not only shed light on better patient counseling and care, but also better tracking of outcomes measurements in today's healthcare climate," said Dr. Gary Chien, lead author of the BJU International study.

Source-Eurekalert

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