Factors related to self-rated health and life satisfaction one year after radical prostatectomy for localised prostate cancer: a cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Localised prostate cancer affects patient's quality of life in many ways. The aim of this study was to explore factors related to self-rated health and life satisfaction for patients treated for prostate cancer, and to compare the results of these generic quality-of-life measures to the prostate cancer-specific quality-of-life measure (UCLA Prostate Cancer Index), which focuses on physical functioning. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was carried out among 183 men who underwent radical prostatectomy in 2012-2015 at a university hospital in Finland and were seen 1 year postsurgery. Approval from an ethics committee and written consents from participants were received. A questionnaire was used to evaluate patients' perceived quality of life. Logistic regression model, Spearman's correlation, Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U-test were used to analyse factors related to quality of life. RESULTS: Of the 183 men in the study, 63% rated their health status as good, and 70% were satisfied with their lives after prostatectomy. Older age and better urinary function were the only factors that explained both better self-rated health and better satisfaction with life. The patients seemed not to interpret problems with sexual function as health-related problems. In our sample, sexual dysfunction was relatively severe, but patients considered them to be less harmful than urinary or bowel symptoms. Interestingly, 24% of the men with low sexual function did not find that dysfunction bothersome. CONCLUSIONS: Objectively measured physical functioning is not necessarily in line with patients' experienced satisfaction with life and their self-ratings of health. More longitudinal and qualitative research is needed about the meanings that patients attach to physical treatment side effects and the extent to which they can adapt to them over time. With a bigger sample and longer follow-up time, it would be possible to identify men who particularly benefited from pretreatment counselling.

Psychometric properties of the expanded prostate cancer index composite - 26 instrument in a cohort of radical prostatectomy patients: theoretical and practical examinations.

BACKGROUND: Recently, the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite 26-item version (EPIC-26) was recommended for the assessment of adverse effects after the treatment of prostate cancer without clear reasons. This decision encouraged us to review the questionnaire development from the UCLA Prostate Cancer Index (UCLA-PCI) to the EPIC-16 CP with a focus on psychometric properties. We also reviewed PubMed for papers concerning such properties of the EPIC-26 since 2012 (latest review in 2011). Finally, we examined the psychometric properties of the EPIC-26 in a sample of Norwegian males treated with robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). METHODS: This study used three methods: (1) Comparison of the content of the UCLA-PCI, EPIC-50, EPIC-26, and EPIC-16 CP; (2) Review of EPIC-26 and EPIC-16 CP papers in PubMed from 2012 to 2016, identifying papers reporting on the psychometric properties of these questionnaires; and (3) Psychometric examination of the EPIC-26 rating in 651 Norwegian men treated with RALP at a mean of 3.2 years post-surgery. RESULTS: The questionnaire development showed a significant increase in bother versus function items, and the EPIC-26 contains eight function and 18 bother items. Twelve papers concerning the EPIC-26 available on PubMed since 2012 support the psychometric properties of the EPIC-26. The Norwegian EPIC-26 findings supported the psychometric properties of the EPIC-26, but suggested six subdomains both by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. CONCLUSIONS: In general our examinations supported the adequate psychometric properties of the EPIC-26, although the factor structure, construct and predictive validity of the instrument should be examined further.