Prostate-specific symptoms of prostate cancer in a German general population

Predominant symptoms in prostate cancer patients are erectile dysfunctions and urinary problems. As decreases of these functions can be attributed to disease and treatment but also to age-related decreases, we conducted a study on a German reference population measuring general quality of life (QoL) as well as prostate-specific symptoms. In cooperation with a German health insurance company, 3000 questionnaires were mailed to a randomly selected sample of men aged 45-75 years. Questionnaires used were the EORTC QLQ-C30 and a prostate-specific module (PSM). One thousand one hundred and fifty questionnaires were returned (response rate: 37.6%). QoL data from this reference population were compared to QoL data from a historical cohort study of prostate cancer patients following either prostatectomy or radiotherapy. In terms of general QoL, the reference population showed similar QoL scores as prostatectomy patients, but better scores than radiotherapy patients. On the PSM, the reference sample showed better overall QoL, but a surprisingly high extent of erectile dysfunction, urinary problems and psychic strain. Taking into account the sensitive topic of this study (sexuality and urinary problems), the response rate is more than satisfying. Older men in our randomly selected, population-based sample do not show perfect erectile and urinary function. These findings should be considered when interpreting QoL data of prostate cancer patients.