Serum luteinizing hormone concentration is significantly associated with recovery of urinary function after radical prostatectomy.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To perform a longitudinal investigation of the correlation between functional recovery and sex hormone concentrations after radical prostatectomy (RP). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 72 consecutive patients undergoing RP between January 2012 and June 2013 were prospectively included and serially followed after surgery for comparative analysis. Their luteinizing hormone (LH) and total testosterone (TT) concentrations were measured before surgery and 3 and 12 months after surgery. They also filled out a health-related quality of life questionnaire before and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery. RESULTS: The mean LH concentration increased from 4.28 U/L at baseline to 5.53 U/L at 3 months and remained high at 12 months after RP (both P < 0.001). There were no significant changes in the TT concentration after RP. LH at baseline was negatively correlated with the urinary function (UF) score at 3 and 12 months after RP (P = 0.030 and 0.032, respectively). After RP, subjects with high baseline LH (n = 37) were more likely than those with low LH concentrations to report lower UF scores (P = 0.014). Multivariate analysis of variance in an interaction of time × LH concentration for UF scores indicated a significant relationship between changes in UF score and LH concentration (P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Radical prostatectomy affects sex hormones by increasing LH concentrations, while TT concentrations remain stable after surgery. Baseline LH concentrations are significantly associated with the recovery of urinary outcomes after RP.