The effect of androgen deprivation therapy on health-related quality of life in men with prostate cancer

Treatment for prostate cancer has a significant impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). We examined HRQOL in a cohort of men receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and a cohort who opted for surveillance. The cohort consisted of 1178 newly diagnosed patients from the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) database (a national longitudinal registry of patients with prostate cancer). General and disease-specific HRQOL outcomes were measured with validated instruments (the SF-36 and University of California at Los Angeles [UCLA] Prostate Cancer Index) at study entry and quarterly thereafter. Individuals were grouped by initial treatment: ADT, surveillance, radical prostatectomy, or radiation therapy. There were 106 men who selected surveillance, 167 men receiving ADT, 351 men treated by radical prostatectomy, and 75 men receiving radiation therapy in the first year after diagnosis. Mean age at diagnosis was 73 years of age, with surveillance patients the oldest and radical prostatectomy patients the youngest. Men receiving ADT reported poorer urinary and sexual function and a higher rate of urinary and sexual bother than patients selecting surveillance. ADT and surveillance HRQOL scores remained low (ie, poorer function) in the year after treatment, whereas men undergoing radical prostatectomy showed improvement in these scales. Patients who received ADT had reduced energy, poorer sexual and urinary function, and were more bothered by their urine and sexual function than patients undergoing other treatments, except surveillance. Longer follow-up time after start of ADT and surveillance is needed to discern the impact of comorbidities on HRQOL. (C) 2001, Elsevier Science Inc.