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Review
. 2014:2014:470592.
doi: 10.1155/2014/470592. Epub 2014 Mar 17.

Quality of Life and Sexual Health in the Aging of PCa Survivors

Mauro Gacci  1 , Elisabetta Baldi  2 , Lara Tamburrino  2 , Beatrice Detti  3 , Lorenzo Livi  3 , Cosimo De Nunzio  4 , Andrea Tubaro  4 , Stavros Gravas  5 , Marco Carini  1 , Sergio Serni  1
Affiliations
Review

Quality of Life and Sexual Health in the Aging of PCa Survivors

Mauro Gacci et al. Int J Endocrinol. 2014.

Erratum in

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignancy in elderly men. The progressive ageing of the world male population will further increase the need for tailored assessment and treatment of PCa patients. The determinant role of androgens and sexual hormones for PCa growth and progression has been established. However, several trials on androgens and PCa are recently focused on urinary continence, quality of life, and sexual function, suggesting a new point of view on the whole endocrinological aspect of PCa. During aging, metabolic syndrome, including diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and central obesity, can be associated with a chronic, low-grade inflammation of the prostate and with changes in the sex steroid pathways. These factors may affect both the carcinogenesis processes and treatment outcomes of PCa. Any treatment for PCa can have a long-lasting negative impact on quality of life and sexual health, which should be assessed by validated self-reported questionnaires. In particular, sexual health, urinary continence, and bowel function can be worsened after prostatectomy, radiotherapy, or hormone treatment, mostly in the elderly population. In the present review we summarized the current knowledge on the role of hormones, metabolic features, and primary treatments for PCa on the quality of life and sexual health of elderly Pca survivors.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the main pathways involved in development of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). ADT: androgen-deprivation therapy, AR: androgen receptor. Modified from 43.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The pathophysiological loop of metabolic syndrome.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of function and bother in long-term disease-free survivors after nerve sparing RP without hormone treatment: UF: urinary function; UB: urinary bother; SF: sexual function; SB: sexual bother; RP: radical prostatectomy (adapted from [70]).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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