QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN PATIENTS TREATED FOR PENILE CANCER - A FOLLOW-UP-STUDY

Objectives To study the long-term psychosocial wellbeing of patients f ollowing successful physical treatment for cancer of the penis. Patien ts and methods Thirty patients (median age at follow-up 57 years, rang e 28-75) were followed up for a median of 80 months after treatment fo r penile cancer (local excision/laser beam treatment, 5; radiotherapy, 12; partial penectomy, 9; total penectomy, 4). They underwent a semi- structured interview and completed the Impact of Events Scale, General Health Questionnaire and the EORTC QLQ C-30 questionnaire. Global sca les for measuring sexual function, subjective well-being and social ac tivity were constructed and found reliable and valid. Results There wa s a strong correlation between the well-being scale and the EORTC scal es for overall quality of life and psychological distress. Patients tr eated with partial or total penectomy had a worse outcome with regard to sexual function than patients treated conservatively, but there was no difference in the other domains of quality of life, indicating tha t even the more radically treated patients usually adapted adequately. Half of the individuals had mental symptoms at follow-up, and these p atients were less satisfied and showed less social activity. Seven men reported that, if asked again, they would choose treatment with lower long-term survival to increase the chance of remaining sexually poten t, but the majority gave priority to higher long-term survival. Conclu sion Before treatment of penile cancer, physicians should thoroughly d iscuss the expected outcome and consequences of the different treatmen t options with the patient. Psychosocial treatment might be helpful fo r patients with mental symptoms.