Quality of life (QoL) is an important factor
for the cancer patients after treatment. The study aimed to investigate QoL and
sexual activity in patients who had undergone stereotactic hypofractionated
radiotherapy (HRT). Methods: The analysis included 82 prostate cancer patients:
40 patients treated by HRT (33.5 Gy in 5 fractions) and 42 patients treated by
standard three-dimensional conformal radiation treatment 3DCRT (70-82 Gy in
35-41 fractions); and 50 healthy men without any type of cancer.
The subjects filled out the questionnaires:
EORTC QLQC30 (version 3.0.) and the prostate cancer-specific EORTC QLQ-PR25.
The median follow-up was 21 months for HRT patients and 28 months for 3DCRT
patients. Results: The tolerance for stereotactic HRT was shown to be good. The
QoL
and the general health status of HRT patients were higher than of 3DCRT
patients and even of healthy men. Most patients treated by HRT felt that they
had lost their masculinity.
However, they were still interested in having
sex; one third of them were sexually active, most reported satisfaction with
their sex life. Conclusions: HRT for prostate cancer patients was an attractive
treatment in relation to patients' QoL assessment in the short term analysis.
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