title: Effect of androgen deprivation therapy on quality of life in Japanese men with prostate cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in Japanese men receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-six men were enrolled in this study. HRQOL was prospectively measured before ADT, and at 3, 6 and 12 months after treatment began, using a general (36-item Short-Form Health Survey) and disease-specific (the University of California, Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index) HRQOL questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the general HRQOL questionnaire, patients with stage B (n = 22) or C (n = 17) disease showed a decline in vitality at 6 and 12 months (P < 0.05 for both). Stage D patients (n = 17) had improvements in bodily pain at 3 and 12 months (P < 0.05 for both), vitality at 12 months (P < 0.05), role-emotional at 6 months (P < 0.05), and mental health at 3 months (P < 0.05). When clinical stages were not considered, there were no significant changes in the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey. As for the disease-specific HRQOL, urinary function improved after ADT at 6 and 12 months (P < 0.05 for both), and urinary bother decreased at 3 (P < 0.05), 6 (P < 0.005) and 12 months (P < 0.05). Sexual function decreased at 3 (P < 0.05), 6 (P < 0.005) and 12 months (P < 0.005) but sexual bother improved at 6 and 12 months (P < 0.05 for both). If patients were stratified by clinical stages, similar findings were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  General HRQOL was mostly unaffected by ADT in Japanese men. Disease-specific questions indicated an increase in urinary function. Although deterioration of sexual function was marked, most patients did not report sexual bother. Our results shed new light on the impact of ADT on HRQOL and could provide useful information about patient-centered outcome evaluations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Chiba University, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Komiya
authors.forename: Hiroyoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Imamoto
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Tomohiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000726:Androgen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D009919:Orchiectomy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life
chemical_list: D000726:Androgen Antagonists; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone