EUPROMS Study of Quality of Life in Men Treated for Prostate Cancer
Posted: Monday, August 10, 2020
After treatment for prostate cancer, many men experience problems with continence, sexual function, fatigue, and insomnia, which negatively impact their quality of life. In fact, according to André Deschamps, MD, Chairman of Europa Uomo, Antwerp, Belgium, and colleagues, the impact of these adverse effects may be greater than previously thought. These findings from the EUPROMS survey of nearly 3,000 European men from 25 countries, which represent the first international quality-of-life study in patients with prostate cancer, were presented during the 2020 European Association of Urology (EAU) Virtual Congress.
“Our findings provide patients and health-care professionals with a snapshot of the impact of treatments,” stated Dr. Deschamps in a press release. “Wherever it is possible and safe, active surveillance should be considered [as] the first-line treatment to ensure [the] best quality of life.”
Data were gathered from 2,943 European men who were treated for prostate cancer, with an average age of 70 (all older than 45). Respondents completed a 20-minute online survey, using three standard quality-of-life questionnaires: EPIC-26, EORTC-QLQ-C30, and EQ-5D-5L. Patients reported on the quality of their lives approximately 6 years after treatment.
The survey results revealed that 50% of the respondents indicated loss of sexual function was a big (28%) or moderate (22%) problem for them. In addition, different treatments seemed to have different effects the quality of life. For instance, radical prostatectomy had the largest reported impact on urinary incontinence, radiotherapy had a major effect on sexual function, and chemotherapy had a major impact on both fatigue and insomnia. The best quality-of-life scores seemed to be achieved in men whose cancer was discovered in an early, curable stage.
Of note, these results are not considered to be comparable to those of clinical studies using the same validated questionnaires, and further investigation of this issue is ongoing.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit resource-centre.uroweb.org.
