gms | German Medical Science

27th German Cancer Congress Berlin 2006

German Cancer Society (Frankfurt/M.)

22. - 26.03.2006, Berlin

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Quality of life after permanent brachytherapy in low-risk prostate cancer: prospective evaluation using EORTC QLQ-C30 and PR25 modules

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  • corresponding author presenting/speaker Dirk Vordermark - Uni-Klinik f. Strahlentherapie, Würzburg, Deutschland
  • Michael Noe - Urologie, Missionsärztliche Klinik, Würzburg
  • Klaus Markert - Urologie, Missionsärztliche Klinik, Würzburg
  • Kurt Baier - Uni-Klinik f. Strahlentherapie, Würzburg
  • Jörn Wulf - Uni-Klinik f. Strahlentherapie, Würzburg
  • Fabian Pohl - Uni-Klinik f. Strahlentherapie, Würzburg
  • Klaus Bratengeier - Uni-Klinik f. Strahlentherapie, Würzburg
  • Georg Schön - Urologie, Missionsärztliche Klinik, Würzburg
  • Michael Flentje - Uni-Klinik f. Strahlentherapie, Würzburg

27. Deutscher Krebskongress. Berlin, 22.-26.03.2006. Düsseldorf, Köln: German Medical Science; 2006. DocPE324

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/dkk2006/06dkk434.shtml

Published: March 20, 2006

© 2006 Vordermark et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important issue in treatment choice and patient counseling in favorable-risk prostate cancer where different treatment options offer high chances of cure. We prospectively studied the HRQOL of patients undergoing permanent prostate brachytherapy (PPB).

Methods: Since 2003, 49 consecutive patients with low-risk prostate cancer (mean age 68 years) treated with PPB (stranded 125-I seeds, prescription dose 145 Gy) were asked to complete HRQOL questionnaires before implantation (t0), after four weeks at the time of post-planning CT (t1) and after 1 year (t2). The EORTC QLQ-C30 instrument was used with the prostate module PR25. Results at t1 and t2 were compared to t0 (Mann-Whitney U test). Urinary symptoms at t1 were correlated with dose-volume parameters of the implant (Spearman rank test).

Results: For the respective timepoints, 47/48 (98%; t0), 39/48 (81%; t1) and 12/14 (86%; t2) questionnaires were evaluable. Mean scores on function scales of QLQ-C30 (higher values = better function) for the timepoints (t0/ t1/ t2) were as follows (*=significant difference compared to t0): Physical function 89.6/89.4/89.4; role function 85.8/79.1/75; emotional function 74.6/77/78.9; cognitive function 89.7/86.3/83.3; social function 87.2/79.5/76.4; global quality of life 68.8/61.4/68.1. In the organ-specific module (higher values = more severe symptoms) mean scores for urinary symptoms were 23.9/46.4*/40.5* and for bowel symptoms 5.4/10.3*/16.7. Urinary symptoms were not significantly correlated with any implant parameter.

Conclusion: Global quality of life is preserved after seed implantation for PBB. Urinary symptoms are significantly increased after 4 weeks, the increase in bowel symptoms is probably not clinically relevant. One-year data suggesting only partial recovery from urinary problems are very preliminary, as most patients have yet to reach this timepoint, but correspond to recently published data (van Gellekom et al., Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2005).