Health-Related Quality of Life in I-125 Prostate Brachytherapy Patients Treated with and without Volume-Reducing Hormone Therapy: Results of a Short-Term Prospective Study

Abstract

Health-related quality of life in I-125 prostate brachytherapy patients treated with and without volume-reducing hormone therapy Mols, Floortje; Stijns, P.; Dankaart, B.; Houterman, S.; Vingerhoets, Ad; Hendrikx, A.J.P. General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.-Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research -You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain -You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright, please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. AbstractPurpose: This study describes the differences in short-term effects of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in I-125 prostate brachytherapy patients who were treated with and without volume-reducing hormone therapy. Patients and Methods: Prostate cancer patients (N ϭ 312) filled out questionnaires on HRQOL (European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire [EORTC-QLQ]-C30 and EORTC-QLQ-PR25) before treatment and 6 weeks and 3 months after treatment. HRQOL was compared between the two groups: Patients who were receiving brachytherapy (n ϭ 233) and patients who were receiving brachytherapy with volume-reducing hormone therapy (n ϭ 79). Duration of androgen ablation was 9 months, starting 3 months before I-125 implantation. Results: After treatment, patients reported significant and clinically relevant decreased scores on the following subscales: Global health status, role functioning, social functioning, pain, insomnia, bowel symptoms and functioning, and treatment-related functions, regardless of the therapy they received. Results showed that prostate cancer patients receiving brachytherapy with volume-reducing hormone therapy also experienced lower treatment-related functions and lower sexual function. Significant time by treatment interaction effects were found for treatment-related functions. The subscale treatment-related functions was the only scale that showed a difference over time, between treatments, and time by treatment. Conclusions: The differences in HRQOL between brachytherapy and brachytherapy with volume-reducing hormone therapy are small; they both decrease HRQOL and increase treatment-related problems. A long-term prospective study on long-term effects on HRQOL is needed to obtain a more comprehensive view of the consequences of a specific treatment modality over time. Our results can help to identify the problems patients face after brachytherapy with or without hormone therapy; these problems deserve additional attention during the period of recovery. 153