UCLA study finds prostate cancer treatments impact on quality of life

3 most common treatments affect men in different ways
A rigorous, long-term study of quality of life in patients who underwent one of the three most common treatments for prostate cancer found that each affected men's lives in different ways. The findings provide invaluable information for men with prostate cancer who are facing vital treatment decisions.
Researchers studied quality of life in men who either underwent radical prostatectomy, implantation of radioactive seeds in their prostate gland or had external beam radiation therapy. The three treatment options rank about equally in survival outcomes for most men, so specific impacts on quality of life become paramount in making treatment decisions, said Dr. Mark Litwin, the study's lead author and a researcher at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center.
"The good news is that overall mental and physical well-being were not profoundly affected by any of the three treatment choices," Litwin said. "That's good news for men with the sword of prostate cancer hanging over their heads. In general, they'll be OK no matter which of the three options they choose."
However, each of the three options did negatively affect quality of life, at least temporarily, with problems ranging from erectile dysfunction and minor incontinence to urinary and bowel irritation.
The study tracked 580 men for five years. The study results, published in the June 1, 2007 issue of the peer-reviewed journal CANCER, represent data from the first two years of the study. Those years, Litwin said, are when most of the negative impacts surface and resolve.
Seed implantation, also known as brachytherapy, has been touted in marketing campaigns as the best of the three options with the shortest recovery time and the fewest sexual dysfunction side effects, Litwin said.
"These campaigns say 'Get your seed implants on Monday, play golf on Tuesday' and that's just not true," said Litwin, a professor of urology and health services. "Men need to have the most accurate information when making vital decisions about what type to treatment they'll get.. They need facts, not hype."