Quality of life of patients after retropubic prostatectomy - Pre- and postoperative scores of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-PR25

BACKGROUND: Patients with newly diagnosed early stage prostate cancer (PCa) face a difficult choice of different treatment options with curative intention. They must consider both goals of optimising quantity and quality of life. The quality of life (QoL) is a psychometric outcome which is measured using validated questionnaires. Only few data are published concerning pre - and postoperative QoL. METHODS: This study investigated pre perative QoL of 185 patients who consecutively underwent open radical retropubic prostatectomy for organ-confined PCa to postoperative QoL of another 185 patients. The EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQPR25 module and 24 h ICS pad test were used (mean follow-up 28.6 months). RESULTS: The examined symptom scores of the EORTC QLQ-PR25 were on lowest level. In the dyspnoea symptom score differences of age emerged: the amount of patients who are short of breath rose significantly in older patients after surgery (p < 0.05 paired, two-tailed student's t-test).. Lastly, the urinary symptom score was found postal-therapeutically low; this fact was age independent. The results of sexual symptom score need to be taken into consideration, since prostatectomy resulted in a significant reduction of sexual activity independent of age. All functioning scales postoperatively reached high values without significant changes (p > 0.05 student's t-test ), which implies a high QoL after surgery. A reliable and satisfying status of continence was found in our patients after retropubic prostatectomy. A high rate of patients (89.2%) would choose retropubic prostatectomy again. CONCLUSION: Retropubic prostatectomy represents a reliable and accepted procedure in the treatment of organ-confined PCa. For the first time it could be shown that patients` QoL remained on a high level after retropubic prostatectomy. Nevertheless, the primary avoidance or postoperative therapy of erectile dysfunction should be in the focus of surgeons.