title: Quality of life changes during conformal radiation therapy for prostate carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study was to describe prospectively quality of life (QOL) before and after radiotherapy for patients with prostate carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-three patients with T1-T3 prostate carcinoma who underwent conformal external beam radiation therapy were randomized either to the complete European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QOL questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) or the Medical Outcomes Study Group Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) at baseline, at 3 weeks and 6 weeks after initial treatment, and at 6 weeks and 5 months after the completion of radiotherapy. The measures were self-reported patient QOL, and values are given as the mean +/- standard error of the mean. Changes in QOL are described from baseline to the end of treatment in both questionnaire groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Emotional role functioning, as measured with the SF-36 questionnaire, significantly improved from 68.2 +/- 9.9 at baseline to 93.3 +/- 5.2 at the end of therapy (P = 0.02). The EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire revealed consistent values of emotional functioning during treatment (72.7 +/- 5.9 at baseline) but showed a significant improvement 6 weeks after therapy (89.0 +/- 4.4; P = 0.01). Role functioning deteriorated from 80.1 +/- 6.5 at baseline to 62.5 +/- 8.8 at the end of radiotherapy (P = 0.02). Symptoms of fatigue were shown to increase significantly from 26.9 +/- 6.0 at baseline to 37.7 +/- 7.6 at the end of therapy (P = 0.02). No significant changes in the other dimensions were observed in either questionnaire.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After radiotherapy for prostate carcinoma, patients experience a temporary deterioration of fatigue and role functioning, as measured with the EORTC QLQ-C-30. Despite physical deterioration, the authors observed an improvement in emotional functioning scores with both questionnaires. This may have been due to psychological adaptation and coping.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital Medical School of Vienna, Department of Radiotherapy and Radiobiology, Vienna, Austria. m.janda@qut.edu.au
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Janda
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gerstner
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Obermair
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fuerst
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wachter
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dieckmann
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pötter
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D011788:Quality of Life; D020266:Radiotherapy, Conformal; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires