Clinical Question: Are rates of sid...

Clinical Question: Are rates of side issues comparable in men with localized prostate cancer who are treated with external beam radiation or radical prostatectomy?

Setting: Population-based

meditation Design: Cohort (prospective)

Synopsis: Researchers identified a cluster of men 55 to 74 years of age with clinically localized prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer result Study was designed to prospectively evaluate the issues of 1,187 men who chose radical prostatectomy (n = 901) or external beam radiation (n = 286) in community settings.

Five years after treatment, the research team sent views to the participants to assess general and disease-specific quality of life. Additionally, the team reviewed the medical records individual to two years after the initial diagnosis. The original cohort included 1591 men with equal reason the follow-up was only 75 percent (79 percent in the cluster treated with surgery and 67 percent in the form into groups treated with radiation). After adjusting for other factors likely to affect continence, 153 percent of men treated with surgery were incontinent (defined as having no bladder reign over or frequently leaking urine) compared with 41 percent of patients treated with radiation (odd ratio [OR] = 44; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 22 to 86; number exigencyed to harm = 9). Additionally, erectile dysfunction was more prevalent in the radical prostatectomy assign places to than in the external beam radiotherapy collection (79.3 versus 63.5 percent; OR = 25; 95 percent CI, 16 to 38; number destitutioned to harm = 6).

Bottom Line: Men with clinically localized prostate cancer who received radical prostatectomy are more likely to experience incontinence and erectile dysfunction than men treated with external beam radiation. (Level of Evidence: 2b)

reflection Reference: Potosky AL, et al. Five-year issues after prostatectomy or radiotherapy for prostate cancer: the prostate cancer consequences study. J Natl Cancer Inst September 15 2004;96:1358-67

Used with permission from Barry H Better quality of life after radiation than prostatectomy. Accessed online November 1 2004 at: http://www.InfoPOEMs.com.

COPYRIGHT 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians

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