A Prospective Report of Changes in Prostate Cancer Related Quality of Life After Robotic Prostatectomy

Abstract

In this prospective, longitudinal study the authors examined changes in cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal components of prostate cancer-related quality of life in 71 men who underwent robotic-assisted prostatectomy for prostate cancer. They identified significant changes across several quality-of-life domains from presurgery to 3-months and 1-year postsurgery. Although some components of quality of life returned to baseline by one year postsurgery, decrements in sexual intimacy, sexual confidence, and masculine self-esteem were enduring. These data can be used to guide patients in their expectations for quality of life following robotic prostatectomy and highlight the need for multidisciplinary approaches aimed at improving men's sexual adjustment after this procedure.

KEYWORDS:

• prostate cancer
• robotic prostatectomy
• quality of life
• sexuality

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the patients who lent their time to this study. In addition, the authors thank the clinic staff in the Division of Urology at City of Hope for facilitating patient accrual, Irene Campos and Helena Stanbridge for data entry assistance, and Timothy Wilson and Mark Kawachi for their commitment to this study and referral of their patients. The authors also thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.Andrea A. Thornton is now at the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital and Semel Institute, UCLA.

Notes

*p < 0.001.