Urinary, bowel, sexual function, and quality of life among men with localized prostate cancer may vary depending on treatment with monitoring, surgery, or radiotherapy, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Through the Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment (ProtecT) Trial, researchers examined patient-reported outcomes of 1643 men who had completed questionnaires before diagnosis, at 6 and 12 months after randomization, and then annually after the first 12 months. At 5 years, the researchers assessed for cancer-related quality of life.
Questionnaire completion upon follow-up was higher than 85% for most observed measures.
Prostatectomy had the greatest negative effect on sexual function and urinary continence, which remained worse among the 3 groups throughout the trial.