Longitudinal assessment of changes in sexual function and bother in patients treated with external beam radiotherapy or brachytherapy, with and without neoadjuvant androgen ablation: data from CaPSURE
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Updated: Aug 21, 2026
A Bioluminescent and Fluorescent Orthotopic Syngeneic Murine Model of Androgen-dependent and Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer
Published on: March 6, 2018
Joycelyn L Speight1, Eric P Elkin, David J Pasta
1Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California San Francisco/Mt. Zion Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA, USA. speight@radonc17.ucsf.edu
Purpose:
To evaluate the effects of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT), with or without brachytherapy (BT) boost or brachytherapy monotherapy with and without short-term androgen ablation (<==6 months; STAD) on sexual function (SF) and sexual bother (SB) in men treated for localized prostate cancer.
Methods And Materials:
A total of 992 men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer enrolled in the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urological Research Endeavor database were studied to assess treatment-related changes in SF and SB. Six treatment subgroups (EBRT - STAD, EBRT + STAD, BT - STAD, BT + STAD, EBRT + BT - STAD, EBRT + BT + STAD) were compared.
Results:
The greatest reported changes in SF occurred during the first 2 posttreatment years. Patients receiving BT reported greater SF and the least change in SF overall; those receiving EBRT + BT reported the greatest decline in SF. SF scores associated with STAD were initially lower than in patients without STAD; however by 1 year no statistically significant difference in SF or SB was noted.
Conclusion:
Each treatment for prostate cancer can negatively affect SF and SB. Initial differences among treatment subgroups exist, but diminish with time. SF changes associated with EBRT +/- BT were statistically significant and those for BT were not. STAD appeared to confer only temporary and recoverable impairment of erectile function.
