OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between treatment-related side effects and cancer-specific and general quality of life (QOL) among long-term prostate cancer survivors.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial, we conducted telephone interviews with prostate cancer survivors (N = 518) who were 5-10 years after diagnosis. We assessed demographic and clinical information, sexual, urinary, and bowel treatment-related side effects (Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite), cancer-specific QOL (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-total score), and general QOL (the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 12's physical and mental subscales).
RESULTS: Participants were aged 74.6 years on average, primarily White (88.4%), and married (81.7%). Pearson correlation coefficients between the 3 treatment-related side effect domains (urinary, sexual, and bowel) and QOL ranged between 0.14 and 0.42 (P < .0001). Multivariable linear regression analyses revealed that poorer urinary and sexual functioning and greater bowel side effects were independently associated with poorer cancer-specific QOL (P < .0001). Bowel and urinary functions were also associated with poorer general QOL on the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 12's physical component summary and mental component summary (P < .05). Bowel side effects demonstrated the strongest association with all QOL outcomes.
CONCLUSION: Treatment-related side effects persisted for up to 10 years after diagnosis and continued to be associated with men's QOL. These results suggest that each of the treatment-related side effects was independently associated with cancer-specific QOL. Compared with the other Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite domains, bowel side effects had the strongest association with cancer-specific and general QOL. These associations emphasize the tremendous impact that bowel side effects continue to have for men many years after their initial diagnosis.
Written by:
Davis KM, Kelly SP, Luta G, Tomko C, Miller AB, Taylor KL. Are you the author?
Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center; Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, and Biomathematics, Georgetown University Medical Center; Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, ON, Canada.
Reference: Urology. 2014 Aug;84(2):300-6.
doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2014.04.036
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24975711
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