With increasing scrutiny of prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis and treatment, much attention has been given to the morbidity caused by radical prostatectomy (RP) and/or radiotherapy (RT).
One of the most common side-effects of either treatment is erectile dysfunction (ED). [1] Approximately, 40% of patients will experience ED after RT for PCa. The post-RT ED causes significant patient dissatisfaction with cancer treatment as well as decrease in patient and partner psychosocial function. [2] To address this issue in patients undergoing RT, Pisansky et al. [3] conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of a phosphodiesterase enzyme-5 inhibitor (PDE5i), tadalafil, as a preventive measure for patients undergoing RT for PCa and found no difference in erectile function between the control and treatment groups.
Written by:
Faiena I, Patel N, Seftel AD. Are you the author?
Division of Urology, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, NJ, USA.
Reference: Asian J Androl. 2014 Jul 29. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.4103/1008-682X.133327
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25130584