Quality of life of asymptomatic men with nonmetastatic prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy.

Overview

PURPOSE: We evaluate the quality of life of asymptomatic men with nonmetastatic prostate cancer who receive androgen deprivation therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Quality of life was longitudinally evaluated in a cohort of 144 men with locally advanced prostate cancer or prostate specific antigen relapse after local therapy who chose to receive (79 patients) or not to receive (65 patients) androgen deprivation therapy. Androgen deprivation therapy consisted of orchiectomy, leuprolide alone or leuprolide plus flutamide. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the effect of different treatment regimens on patient quality of life. RESULTS: Men who received androgen suppression had more fatigue, loss of energy, emotional distress and a lower overall quality of life than men who deferred hormone therapy. Combined androgen blockade had a greater adverse effect on quality of life than monotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Androgen deprivation therapy may significantly impair the physical and emotional health of asymptomatic patients with nonmetastatic prostate cancer.