Questionnaires and PROs for Urinary, Bowel, and Erectile Dysfunction After a Radical Prostatectomy

Patients treated with radical prostatectomy face many postoperative challenges, such as regaining sexual and bowel function and urinary control. The adverse effects of treatments for localized disease can negatively impact quality of life (QoL). Clinicians/investigators must be able to rigorously assess quality of life-related outcomes experienced by patients, allowing to effectively incorporate quality of life considerations into treatment decisions. Several questionnaires are commonly used in post-RP management for the purpose of providing patient-directed assessments of symptoms. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are being used more and more over the time. Patients’ reports of symptoms, function, and health-related quality of life (HRQL) or overall quality of life (QoL) provide significant data on the impact that health problems and related treatments have on patients’ lives. Over time, the number of different general HRQoL and disease-specific HRQoL questionnaires has increased tremendously, with a recent systematic review revealing 298 different questionnaires for prostate cancer. Herein, the main questionnaire on prostate cancer QoL was reported and discussed.