Cancer‐related pain and quality of life in prostate cancer patients: Assessment using the Functional Assessment of Prostate Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Abstract:The objective of this study was to assess disease-associated pain and quality of life (QOL) in patients with prostate cancer (PC). A total of 102 PC patients (clinical stage B, C: 20, D2: 82) patients were enrolled. QOL was assessed using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy, General and Prostate (FACT-G/P). Disease-specific pain response was assessed using the visual analog scale and the face rating scale. In patients with stage D2 PC, mean age, serum prostate-specific antigen level, and performance status were 72.5 Ϯ 7.1 years (range, 55-88), 217 Ϯ 467 ng/mL (range, 0.1-2600), and 1.4 (0-4), respectively. The score of physical well-being and FACT-P was significantly lower in stage D2 patients, compared with those of stage B/C (P = 0.02, 0.0088, respectively). Performance status, extent of disease, and the visual analog scale were related with a poor QOL score (P = 0.0054, 0.01, <0.0001, respectively). Thirty-two patients (39%) had disease-specific pain, and 25 patients received a related treatment. Ten patients under morphine analgesics maintained better QOL in almost all domains, compared with the seven patients without any painkillers. Combined use of FACT and pain scales enhances the objective assessment of QOL and pain status in PC patients. Control of disease-associated pain is crucial to improving QOL in stage D2 PC patients.

Evaluation of an informational pamphlet on distress and perceptions of supportive care for men with prostate cancer

“…However, similarly high scores have been reported for Caucasian men 24 months post-diagnosis who received either radical prostatectomy or external beam radiation therapy (FACT-P mean = 128, SD = 17.1) [18]; and in Japanese patients treated with carbon ion therapy 12 months after treatment (FACT-P mean = 120.4 (SD = 21.1) [19]. Our sample showed similar variability to that reported in other studies [20][21][22].…”

Prostate cancer‐specific anxiety and the resulting health‐related quality of life in couples

“…Fujimura et al. (), who focused on people with prostate cancer in Japan, found that people at the D2 stage of cancer had worse physical well‐being compared with those people at the B/C cancer stage, but they displayed no significant differences in emotional or social well‐being. The differences between these findings and those of the present study might be related to the different tracking periods of the two studies.…”

Health-related quality of life assessment in prospective trials of systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: which instrument we need?

“…Control of disease-associated pain is crucial to improve HRQoL in mCRPC. A recent small trial has proved that performance status, extent of disease, and the visual analog scale (VAS) were related with a poor HRQoL score [6]. Psychological factors that may alter pain perception in patients with cancer could have a potential role in pain control [21].…”

“…A recent small trial documented that performance status, extent of disease, and the VAS for pain assessment were related with a poor HRQoL score reported by FACT-P (physical and functional well-being, FACT-P total score). In particular, 32 patients (39%) had disease-specific pain and patients under morphine analgesics maintained higher HRQoL in almost all domains [6].…”

“…A pivotal descriptive assessment of HRQoL concluded that bone pain, fatigue, sexual disturbances, and interruption of social relationships were the most frequent and most severe complaints of patients with PC [5]. A more recent Japanese study reported significantly lower HRQoL scores in metastatic PC versus early PC; during that trial, patients with mCRPC complain of general fatigue, cancer pain, restriction of daily life, and urinary disturbance [6]. A rapid decline of HRQoL has been reported in mCRPC by Brief Pain Inventory [7], Short Form 36 (SF36) [8,9].…”