Does early depressive mood expire following radical retropubic prostatectomy in patients with localized prostate cancer?

In this study, the pattern of depressive mood in patients following radical prostatectomy (RP) for localized prostate cancer (PCa) was determined. A total of 30 patients (aged 68.03±6.1 years) who were diagnosed with localized PCa and underwent RP within 1 month entered the study. Evaluations included body mass index, prostate-specific antigen, testosterone, underlying disease, international prostate symptom score and quality of life (QoL), international index of erectile function as well as Beck depression inventory (BDI), both at the initial stage and 3 months later. Basic demographic data, laboratory results, and questionnaires were analyzed statistically. The BDI score significantly decreased 3 months after the surgery. In correlation analysis, BDI was related with the international prostate symptom score but not with the underlying disease, QoL or international index of erectile function. Body mass index was identified as one of the risk factors to decrease the probability of BDI score (≥3) significantly. Underlying disease increased the probability of BDI score. In the assessment of the correlation between BDI and each subscale, sadness, self-dislike, self-criticalness, and worth-lessness showed high correlation. In the early period, depressive mood was improved at the short-term follow-up in localized PCa patients after RP. Voiding symptoms were only related with the depressive mood, but not with other parameters, including sexual function. The depressive mood had no effect on the QoL in the early stage.