Identifying Distinct Quality-of-Life Profiles in Prostate Cancer Patients: A Latent Profile Approach

Background: Prostate cancer substantially affects patients' quality of life (QoL). However, whether distinct QoL profiles exist among patients remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to identify latent QoL profiles among patients with prostate cancer and explore factors associated with profile membership. Methods: A cross-sectional study included 200 patients with prostate cancer recruited from a tertiary hospital in China between May and December 2024. QoL was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P). Latent profile analysis was performed using Mplus 8.3, and the optimal model was selected according to information criteria, entropy, and likelihood ratio tests. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with profile membership. Results: LPA identified two distinct subgroups: low QoL (32.5%) and high QoL (67.5%). Medium and heavy economic burden significantly increased odds of low QoL (OR = 4.13, 95% CI: 1.13-15.02, p = 0.032; OR = 11.12, 95% CI:1.55-79.86, p = 0.017). Urinary continence markedly reduced odds of low QoL (OR = 0.08, 95% CI: 0.02-0.25, p < 0.001). Longer diagnosis-to-treatment intervals were associated with membership in the low-QoL profile (1-3 months: OR = 2.99, 95% CI: 1.26-7.08, p = 0.013; >3 months: OR = 3.36, 95% CI: 1.02-11.07, p = 0.046). Conclusions: This study identified two QoL profiles among patients with prostate cancer. The findings suggest that person-centered QoL assessment may facilitate early identification of patients with greater supportive care needs and contribute to more individualized survivorship care.