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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2013 Dec 10;109(12):3005-13.
doi: 10.1038/bjc.2013.679. Epub 2013 Oct 29.

The effects of multidisciplinary rehabilitation: RePCa-a randomised study among primary prostate cancer patients

K B Dieperink  1 , C Johansen, S Hansen, L Wagner, K K Andersen, L R Minet, O Hansen
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The effects of multidisciplinary rehabilitation: RePCa-a randomised study among primary prostate cancer patients

K B Dieperink et al. Br J Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: The objective of this study is the effectiveness of multidisciplinary rehabilitation on treatment-related adverse effects after completed radiotherapy in patients with prostate cancer (PCa).

Methods: In a single-centre oncology unit in Odense, Denmark, 161 PCa patients treated with radiotherapy and androgen deprivation therapy were randomly assigned to either a programme of two nursing counselling sessions and two instructive sessions with a physical therapist (n=79) or to usual care (n=82). Primary outcome was Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC-26) urinary irritative sum-score. Before radiotherapy, pre-intervention 4 weeks after radiotherapy, and after a 20-week intervention, measurements included self-reported disease-specific quality of life (QoL; EPIC-26, including urinary, bowel, sexual, and hormonal symptoms), general QoL (Short-form-12, SF-12), pelvic floor muscle strength (Modified Oxford Scale), and pelvic floor electromyography. Intension-to-treat analyses were made with adjusted linear regression.

Results: The intervention improved, as compared with controls, urinary irritative sum-score 5.8 point (Cohen's d=0.40; P=0.011), urinary sum-score (d=0.34; P=0.023), hormonal sum-score (d=0.19; P=0.018), and the SF-12 Physical Component Summary, d=0.35; P=0.002. Patients with more severe impairment gained most. Pelvic floor muscle strength measured by electromyography declined in both groups, P=0.0001.

Conclusion: Multidisciplinary rehabilitation in irradiated PCa patients improved urinary and hormonal symptoms, and SF-12 physical QoL.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01272648.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
CONSORT-Flow chart.        .
Figure 2
Figure 2
Graphical depiction of the intervention in a randomised rehabilitation study with 161 participants with PCa, Odense, Denmark.        .
Figure 3
Figure 3
Box-plot median urinary irritative sum-score post intervention in a randomised rehabilitation study with 161 participants with PCa, Odens, Denmark. The whiskers show the lower/upper adjacent value and the box shows 25th–75th percentile. The dots show outliers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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