Recovery of health related quality of life after radical prostatectomy in Japanese men: A longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: We performed a longitudinal survey of health related quality of life (HRQOL) after radical retropubic prostatectomy (RP) in Japanese men with localized prostate cancer. METHODS: The present study started with self-reported HRQOL assessments provided by 72 patients who received only RP. The RAND 36-Item Health Survey and the University of California, Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index were administered before and 3, 6 and 12 months after RP. RESULTS: Patients who underwent RP showed problems in some domains of general HRQOL, but these problems diminished over time. Urinary function declined substantially at 3 months and continued to recover at 6 and 12 months, but scored lower than the baseline. Urinary bother at 3 months had a significant decrease, but at six months it turned out to be the same as the baseline. The data of sexual function and bother showed a substantially lower score after RP. The sexual bother score of the younger men was significantly worse than that of the older men. Those who underwent nerve sparing procedures experienced significantly better recovery of urinary and sexual functions than the non-nerve sparing group. CONCLUSION: Despite reports of problems with sexuality and urinary continence, general HRQOL was mostly unaffected by RP after 6 months. Although there was a substantial decrease in urinary function, recovery from urinary bother was rapid. Deterioration of the sexual domain was remarkable throughout the postoperative period. Therefore, careful attention should be given to preoperative counseling, especially for younger patients.