Quality of life in patients with prostate cancer treated with radical image-guided radiotherapy

Aim of the study: The evaluation of quality of life during image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) in patients with prostate cancer.

Materials and methods: The study consisted of 180 prostate cancer patients treated with radical radiotherapy (IGRT). The patients were irradiated using conformal or dynamic techniques with 2 Gy fractionation doses to a total dose of 76 Gy. Patients in the high-risk group (41%) were also irradiated to the pelvic lymph nodes. Quality of life was assessed with EORTC questionnaires: general QLQ-C30 and prostate-specific module QLQ-PR25, which were filled in by patients before and upon completion of radiotherapy. A change of ≥ 10 points in a linearised scale (0–100) was considered clinically significant.

Results: Global quality of life decreased slightly during radiotherapy (from 61 to 57 points), but from the clinical point of view, likewise most of the other quality of life parameters remained stable. In the general module (QLQ-C30) only diarrhoea changed in a clinically relevant way, i.e. by 10 points (from 10 to 20 points), which was mainly observed in patients with elective pelvic irradiation (increase of 18 points, from 10 to 28 points). In the prostate-specific module (QLQ-PR25) only urinary symptoms changed significantly, i.e. by 13 points (from 24 to 37 points).

Conclusions: The quality of life in patients with prostate cancer does not change in a clinically significant way during radiotherapy, which corroborates good treatment tolerance. Increased urinary symptoms and, in the case of pelvic irradiation, also increased diarrhoea have a negative impact on symptom-related quality of life.