Table 2.
Patient reported quality of life and urinary symptom scores before and after radiation therapy for prostate cancer.
| Pre-RT Mean ± SD |
Post-RT Mean ± SD |
P§ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N = 28* | |||
| QOL (SF-36) (possible 0–100) | |||
| Physical function | 70.9 ± 24.5 | 68.1 ± 23.3 | .464 |
| Role limits physical | 65.3 ± 26.9 | 55.7 ± 29.1 | .146 |
| Role limits emotional | 84.8 ±19.1 | 78.4 ± 27.6 | .180 |
| Vitality | 62.5 ± 22.4 | 51.3 ± 24.7 | .005 |
| Emotional well being | 76.3 ± 16.9 | 78.5 ± 18.5 | .429 |
| Social functioning | 86.7 ± 16.5 | 73.8 ± 23.8 | .008 |
| Bodily pain | 68.1 ± 24.0 | 73.8 ± 20.4 | .117 |
| General health | 64.8 ± 19.9 | 70.6 ± 22.3 | .117 |
| PCS | 65.3 ± 19.0 | 65.6 ± 20.4 | .907 |
| MCS | 77.1 ± 15.4 | 70.0 ± 20.3 | .028 |
| Urinary symptoms (IPSS) (possible 0–35 for total, 0–5 for each subset) | |||
| IPSS total | 12.9 ± 9.2 | 20.7 ± 7.0 | .001 |
| Incomplete emptying | 1.6 ± 1.6 | 2.5 ± 1.3 | .040 |
| Frequency | 2.3 ± 2.0 | 3.3 ± 1.5 | .011 |
| Intermittency | 1.5 ± 1.7 | 2.0 ± 1.5 | .170 |
| Urgency | 1.6 ± 1.8 | 3.4 ± 1.4 | <.001 |
| Weak stream | 2.0 ± 1.8 | 2.8 ± 1.5 | .042 |
| Straining | 0.8 ± 1.4 | 1.4 ± 1.2 | .143 |
| Nocturia | 1.8 ± 1.3 | 2.7 ± 1.4 | <.001 |
| IPSS quality of life | 1.8 ± 1.4 | 3.2 ± 1.3 | <.001 |
*
Complete data were available for 27 participants. One patient failed to complete his end of treatment questionnaire.
§
A Bonferroni adjustment was performed due to the large number of variables tested. As 19 variables were tested, the P-value below which differences were considered statistically significant was 0.05 divided by 19, which is equal to 0.003. Bold type indicates a P-value <0.003. SD = standard deviation, QOL = quality of life, IPSS = International Prostate Symptom Score, PCS = Physical Component Score, MCS = Mental Component Score.