Quality of Life the First Year Following Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Quality of Life Returns to Normal in the First Year Following Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer

The type of treatment patients receive for prostate cancer can impact their quality of life, particularly during the first year after treatment, according to a new study.

Published in the November issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics, the study reported on the health-related quality of life for 90 men aged 42 to 79 years with prostate cancer that were treated with curative intent. Forty-four of the men were treated with permanent source interstitial brachytherapy, 23 of the men received external beam radiation therapy and 23 of the men were treated with radical prostatectomy.

Each of the 90 patients completed questionnaires on their quality of life before treatment and at 1 month, 3 months and 12 months after treatment. The questions focused on the patient's cancer symptoms, physical well being and functional well being. The questionnaire specifically sought answers to whether the patients suffered from any of the major side effects of prostate cancer treatments, such as sexual, urinary and bowel dysfunction.

The results of the analysis show that there are significant decreases in quality of life in the first month following interstitial brachytherapy and radical prostatectomy, but not following external beam radiation therapy. However, one year following treatment, men who received all three treatment options had returned to the quality of life they had before treatment.

"We believe this prospective study provides meaningful and clinically relevant information regarding changes in the health related quality of life following treatment for localized prostate cancer," said W. Robert Lee, M.D., a principal investigator in the study and an associate professor of radiation oncology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The study will be published in the November 2001 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

ASTRO would be happy to assist in arranging interviews with Dr. Lee and/or other experts on treating prostate cancer. For more information, please call Lesley Nevers at (703) 227-0141 or e-mail her at [email protected].

ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 6,700 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As a leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the society's goals are to advance the scientific base of radiation therapy and to extend the benefits of radiation therapy to those with cancer and other diseases.

Contact:Katherine Egan Bennett703-227-0156[email protected]

Lesley Nevers703-227-0141[email protected]

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