Changes in health-related quality of life after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer: A longitudinal cohort study in Korea

PURPOSE: To evaluate longitudinal changes in health-related quality of life and satisfaction after radical prostatectomy for the treatment of prostate cancer in Korean men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from patients with localized prostate cancer who underwent radical prostatectomy between January 2012 and December 2013 were analyzed. Patients completed the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite questionnaire at scheduled clinic visits (baseline and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-surgery). RESULTS: Data from 211 men were evaluated. Urinary domain summary scores decreased postoperatively but improved over the 12-month follow-up period. Urinary function and incontinence had not recovered to baseline values at 12 months, whereas urinary bother and irritation/obstruction scores showed no differences from baseline at 12 months. Sexual function improved at each timepoint to 12 months but did not recover to baseline values; sexual bother was approximately 50% of baseline values at 12 months. Recovery of sexual function was significantly greater in patients who underwent robotic surgery versus those who underwent open surgery. At the end of the study period, 66.3% of patients were satisfied with the treatment they had received; multivariate analysis showed that only urinary function recovery was significantly associated with overall satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Urinary outcomes and sexual outcomes had not returned to baseline at 12 months. Recovery of sexual function was significantly greater in patients who underwent robotic surgery. Only recovery of urinary function was significantly associated with overall satisfaction 12 months after radical prostatectomy in this cohort of Korean men.