Long-term health-related quality of life among men with prostate cancer in the Finnish randomized study of screening for prostate cancer

Background: The long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) impacts of PCa screening have not been adequately evaluated. We aimed to compare the generic and disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among men with prostate cancer in the screening arm with the control arm of the PSA-based prostate cancer screening trial in up to 15 years of follow-up.

Materials and methods: This study was conducted within population-based Finnish Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (FinRSPC). During 1996-1999 80,458 men were randomized to the serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening arm (SA, N = 32 000) and the control arm (CA, N = 48 458). Men in the screening arm were screened at 4-year intervals until 2007. HRQOL questionnaires were delivered to newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients in the screening and control arm 1996-2006 (N = 5128) at the time of diagnosis (baseline), at 3-month, 12-month and 5, 10, and 15-year follow-up. Validated UCLA Prostate Cancer Index (UCLA-PCI) and RAND 36-Item Health Survey were used for HRQOL assessment. The data were analyzed with a random effects model for repeated measures.

Results: At baseline, men with prostate cancer in the screening arm reported better Sexual Function, as well as less Sexual and Urinary Bother. Long-term follow-up revealed slightly higher HRQOL scores in the screening arm in prostate cancer specific measures at 10-year post diagnosis, but the differences were statistically significant only in Urinary Bother (UCLA-PCI score 77.9; 95% CI 75.2 to 80.5 vs. 70.9; 95% CI 66.8 to 74.9 P = .005). The generic HRQOL scores were comparable between the trial arms. The overall differences in disease-specific or generic HRQOL scores by trial arm did not vary during the follow-up.

Conclusion: No major differences were observed in HRQOL in men with prostate cancer between the prostate cancer screening and control arms during five to 15-year follow-up.