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Sexual Function and Interest Improve After Prostate Cancer Treatment: Presented at PCS

By Ric Susman

KISSIMMEE, FL -- February 27, 2007 -- Phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors appear to help men recover their sexual function and sexual interest after definitive therapy for prostate cancer, researchers reported here at the 3^rd Prostate Cancer Symposium (PCS).

"We wanted to determine if the efficacy of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors is any different following radical prostatectomy versus radiation therapy for patients with prostate cancer," said Irwin Lee, MD, house officer in radiation oncology, University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States.

"Following radiation therapy or prostatectomy there is a significant [P < .05] improvement in the adjusted sexual function and sexual interest scores associated with the initiation of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors," he said in his poster presentation on February 22^nd.

Dr. Lee and colleagues mined the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) to identify 1,087 men who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1995 and 2003.

The cohort was treated with either radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy, and had reported use of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors after undergoing definitive treatment. The men completed health-related quality of life assessments prior to treatment and 2 years after treatment.

Of the 1,087 men in this study, 846 men had undergone radical prostatectomy and 241 had been treated with radiation therapy. The research team noted that over a 2-year period the sexual function and sexual interest of the men in this study improved.

Those who had undergone radical prostatectomy started with a low amount of sexual interest and function. At the end of the study, however, their interest and sexual function had increased by nearly 50% from baseline.

The patients who were initially treated with radiation therapy started out with much higher sexual function and sexual interest than the other group, but did not see as much improvement as the radical prostatectomy group at 2 years.

In all, the radiation therapy group had a positive outcome, but it was not as dramatic as the radical prostatectomy group's improvement.

Dr. Lee said the study indicates that "following radical prostatectomy, the effectiveness of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors may increase over time, perhaps as patients are recovering from surgery."

He noted that "the response to phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors after radiation therapy was stable. This suggests that phosphodiesterase inhibitors may counter the postradiation therapy decline in sexual function that was seen in this and previous studies."

Dr. Lee listed no potential conflicts of interest. The conference is co-sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and the Society of Urologic Oncology.


[Presentation title: Response to PDE5-I for Erectile Dysfunction Following Surgery or Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer: A CapSURE Study. Abstract 119]

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