Does partnership status affect the quality of life of men having robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) for localised prostate cancer?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether there are any differences in prostate cancer-specific QoL measures at baseline and at 12-months post-surgery between partnered and unpartnered men having robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) for localised prostate cancer. METHODS: We investigated differences in patient-reported outcomes using the Expanded Prostate cancer Index Composite-26 (EPIC-26) and the Clark et al. Prostate Cancer Quality of Life Scales. RESULTS: Five hundred and forty patients were eligible for this study, 56 of whom were unpartnered. We found few differences between partnered and unpartnered men in terms of patient-reported quality of life outcomes following RARP. In our sample of patients with a high socio-economic status, partnered men had lower 12-month postoperative EPIC sexual domain scores and clinical T-stage and were more likely to be sexually active preoperatively. Overall, our data show that men having RARP for prostate cancer have low sexual confidence, high PSA concern and a low outlook at 12-months post-RARP, irrespective of partnership status. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that the RARP patient could benefit from a healthcare system that assesses patient sexual outcome following prostatectomy beyond potency and ability to penetrate a partner. By remaining cognisant of other domains such as sexual intimacy, sexual confidence, masculine self-esteem, health worry, PSA concern, outlook and treatment regret, nursing staff may be able to benefit the prostatectomy patient. Where deficits in these domains are observed by the nurse, referral for specialist psychological review could be made. Whether this could work to improve sexual outcomes in men following RARP deserves further investigation.