Challenges in Reporting the Effect of Radiotherapy on Erectile Function

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Radiation Oncology
• Sexual Medicine

Background:

• Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common side effect of prostate radiotherapy (RT).
• Reported rates of RT-induced ED (RIED) vary significantly across studies and treatment modalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate high-quality, prospectively gathered patient-reported ED data from 2002-2018.
• To summarize challenges in reporting RIED and provide recommendations for future studies.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of PubMed to identify articles on ED rates before and after external beam RT or brachytherapy.
• Focus on studies reporting patient-reported ED, patient and treatment variables, and follow-up duration.

Main Results:

• 24 articles were identified, with RIED rates ranging from 17% to 90%.
• Wide variability in reported ED rates is attributed to differences in patient characteristics, treatment details, and study methodologies.

Conclusions:

• Differences in baseline erectile function, comorbidities, RT type/dose, and use of androgen deprivation therapy impact RIED reporting.
• Standardized reporting using validated questionnaires and consistent follow-up is crucial for comparable and applicable RIED data.