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01 February 2010 Decline in sexual function after radiation therapy for prostate cancerA research team at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. conducted a prospective trial in a cohort of 143 men to clarify the rate and timing of erectile dysfunction after external beam radiation therapy. The study participants all provided baseline data on their sexual function before treatment and at a series of follow-up visits. Data on several factors affecting sexual function were carefully collected and analyzed, including sex drive, erectile function, ejaculatory function, and overall sexual satisfaction. Altogether, the researchers collected 1,187 validated sexual function inventories inventories from the study participants over = 8 years of follow-up. It should be pointed out that this study reports data based exclusively on the subjective reports of the male patients. To get a fully validated “perceptual map” of the sexual functionality of these patients, it would have been helpful if the authors had collected comparable data from the partners of the patients too. This is not meant to imply that the study results are false in any way. However, subjective data from only one side of what is obviously a “two-sided” interaction can only offer information from that single side of the “window of opportunity.” It would have been informative to get insight from the other side of the window too. Study conclusions suggest that SF does not have a continuous decline after EBRT. Instead, SF decreases maximally within the first 24 months after EBRT, with no significant changes thereafter. NOTE: Issues on this site regarding prostate cancer and treatment options, are provided for information only, and are not meant to substitute for the advice of your own physician or other medical professional. Prostate-Report.org does not endorse any specific product, service or treatment. |
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