Impact of locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer on the quality of life.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to assess the health-related quality of life of patients with prostate cancer in advanced phases to obtain additional information on the patients' health. The growing interest in understanding the patient's perspective and the scarcity of prospective studies of this population motivated this research study.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We present an observational study performed on 131 urology consultations, with a sample of 601 patients with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer, assessed during 2 visits: baseline and at 12 months. We collected demographic, clinical, quality-of-life (PROSQoLI and EuroQoL-5D-5L questionnaires) and anxiety/depression (HADS questionnaire) endpoints.

RESULTS

The mean age (SD) was 73.8 (8.2) years, and 87.2% of the participants were retired or pensioners. Some 58.7% of the patients presented locally advanced prostate cancer. Urinary symptoms were the most common, decreasing significantly after one year (P<.05). Urinary problems and fatigue were the most affected measures, and pain/discomfort was the dimension present in most patients (65.3%). According to the linear regression model, asthenia and pain were 2 of the factors most closely related to a poorer quality of life. The presence of anxiety/depression was low. Finally, the health condition as assessed by the clinician was more positive than when assessed by the patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This study broadens the scarce information on the quality of life of the population with advanced prostate cancer, information of use for the clinical management of these patients.