Quality of Life of Prostate Cancer Patients Undergoing Prostatectomy and Affective Temperament

Alicja Popiołek; Bartosz Brzoszczyk; Piotr Jarzemski; Małgorzata Piskunowicz; Marcin Jarzemski; Alina Borkowska; Maciej Bieliński

doi:10.2147/CMAR.S358054

Quality of Life of Prostate Cancer Patients Undergoing Prostatectomy and Affective Temperament

Cancer Manag Res. 2022 May 20:14:1743-1755. doi: 10.2147/CMAR.S358054. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Alicja Popiołek^{1

2}, Bartosz Brzoszczyk³, Piotr Jarzemski³, Małgorzata Piskunowicz¹, Marcin Jarzemski³, Alina Borkowska¹, Maciej Bieliński¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Neuropsychology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Poland.
² Department of Internal Diseases, Jan Biziel University Hospital No.2 in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Poland.
³ Clinic of Urology, Jan Biziel University Hospital No. 2 in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Abstract

Purpose: Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most common malignancies in men. The population of PC survivors is growing, and understanding the roles of different factors that affect quality of life (QoL) is important. We investigated the effects of affective temperament on the QoL of PC patients.

Patients and methods: All subjects (n=100) underwent medical evaluation [including demographic data, medical history, physical examination, biochemical tests, and assessment of urinary incontinence (ICIQ-UI SF scale) and erectile dysfunction (ED) (IIEF-5 and subjective ED scale)] and psychological evaluation [including assessment of affective temperament using the TEMPS-A scale, depression and anxiety (using HADS), and QoL (EORTC-QLQ-C30 and EORTC-PR25)]. The relationships between individual variables were examined.

Results: Erection quality after treatment was associated with better QoL in most parameters. Similar strong relationships were observed between the urinary incontinence scale and QoL. Depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious temperaments were associated with decreased QoL. On the EORTC-PR25 scale, associations were observed between a depressive temperament and worse sexual function and urinary symptoms, between a cyclothymic temperament and worse urinary symptoms, and between an irritable temperament and worse sexual functioning. Multivariate analysis identified the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms measured by HADS as the most important psychological factors affecting QoL.

Conclusion: QoL in PC survivors depends on many factors, including age, interval since diagnosis, tumor stage, treatment, complications, and affective temperament profile. Depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, and anxious temperaments were associated with poorer QoL in selected domains, which was not observed for a hyperthymic temperament. The temperament profile of patients was associated with mood and anxiety level, which were important determinants of a poorer QoL.

Keywords: affective temperament; complications; prostate cancer; prostatectomy; quality of life.