Analysis of health related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with clinically localized prostate cancer, one year after treatment with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) alone versus EBRT and high dose rate brachytherapy (HDRBT)
2008

Quality of Life in Prostate Cancer Patients After Different Treatments

Sample size: 111 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Joseph Kurian Jones, Alvi Riaz, Skarsgard David, Tonita Jon, Pervez Nadeem, Small Cormac, Tai Patricia

Primary Institution: Cross Cancer Institute & University of Alberta

Hypothesis

Does the combination of external beam radiotherapy and high dose rate brachytherapy provide better health-related quality of life compared to external beam radiotherapy alone in prostate cancer patients one year after treatment?

Conclusion

There was no significant difference in quality of life scores between prostate cancer patients treated with EBRT alone and those treated with combined EBRT and HDRBT one year after treatment.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study included 111 patients who completed a quality of life survey one year after treatment.
  • No significant differences were found in quality of life scores between the two treatment groups.
  • The study highlights the importance of HRQoL in treatment decision-making for prostate cancer.

Takeaway

This study looked at how happy and healthy prostate cancer patients felt after two different treatments, and found that both groups felt about the same one year later.

Methodology

Patients completed a quality of life survey one year after treatment, comparing those who received EBRT alone to those who received EBRT and HDRBT.

Potential Biases

Potential bias due to non-randomized design and single-institution setting.

Limitations

The study is a single-institutional non-randomized study with a small sample size in the EBRT plus HDRBT arm and lacks baseline HRQoL information.

Participant Demographics

Median age of participants was 69 years, with a range of 46 to 84 years.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.668

Statistical Significance

p = 0.668

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1748-717X-3-20

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