Quality of life in men treated with carbon ion therapy for prostate cancer.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To prospectively assess patient quality of life (QOL) after carbon ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) for prostate cancer, using established questionnaires.

METHODS AND MATERIAL:

The subjects were 150 patients who underwent C-ion RT. Of these, 25 patients with low-risk prostate cancer received C-ion RT alone, whereas the remaining 125 patients with a high-risk tumor also received androgen deprivation therapy. Quality of life was assessed using the self-administered Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P) questionnaire in all patients three times. In addition, the University of California-Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index (UCLA-PCI) was conducted in the low-risk patients.

RESULTS:

The FACT-General (FACT-G) and FACT-P scores at 12 months after treatment averaged over all 150 patients showed no significant change compared with those before C-ion RT. In FACT-P subscales, emotional well-being increased significantly just after and 12 months after treatment. In contrast, physical well-being (PWB) and social/family well-being (S/FWB) decreased significantly at 12 months, whereas the prostate cancer subscale (PCS) decreased significantly just after treatment. Average scores for FACT-G, FACT-P, PWB, S/FWB, and PCS for the 125 patients receiving hormone therapy showed substantial detrimental changes at 12 months. In contrast, those of the 25 low-risk patients who had no hormone therapy showed no significant change. Similarly no significant change in the average of the UCLA-PCI scores in the low-risk patients was seen at 12 months.

CONCLUSIONS:

Average QOL parameters reported by patients with localized prostate cancer treated with C-ion RT, in the absence of hormone therapy, showed no significant decrease 12 months after C-ion RT.

• Authors: Masaru Wakatsuki, Hiroshi Tsuji, Hitoshi Ishikawa, Takeshi Yanagi, Tadashi Kamada, Takashi Nakano, Hiroyoshi Suzuki, Koichiro Akakura, Jun Shimazaki, Hirohiko Tsujii
• Journal: International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics (Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys) Vol. 72 Issue 4 Pg. 1010-5 (Nov 15 2008) ISSN: 1879-355X [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 18495370 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Carbon Isotopes

Topics

• Carbon Isotopes (therapeutic use)
• Heavy Ion Radiotherapy
• Humans
• Japan (epidemiology)
• Male
• Prostatic Neoplasms (epidemiology, radiotherapy)
• Quality of Life
• Recovery of Function
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Treatment Outcome