Europa Uomo believes that quality of life should at the top of decision makers’ agendas
Quality of life for men with prostate cancer is intrinsic to all Europa Uomo’s work. Early diagnosis brings quality of life benefits because the effects of cancer and its treatments are likely to be far greater if diagnosed late. High quality, personalised treatment in specialised centres can also bring better quality of life.
Up until now, good research about the effects of prostate cancer and its treatments on day-to-day living has been thin on the ground. This means that treatment choices and policy decisions may not always be based on sound evidence.
The Europa Uomo quality of life study
In 2019, Europa Uomo commissioned Europe-wide research on the quality of life of men with prostate cancer – the first time such research has been conducted by patients themselves. It was based on an online survey exploring experiences of treatment and life afterwards.
Over four years, the Europa Uomo Patient Reported Outcomes Study (EUPROMS) gathered 5,464 questionnaire responses from men who have had prostate cancer from 32 countries. The responses were analysed by Monique Roobol of the Erasmus University Medical Centre, Department of Urology, Rotterdam. Early findings were first announced at a European Association of Urology meeting in Dublin in January 2020 and since then findings have been reported at many scientific meetings and in various publications.
Among the findings are:
- significant numbers of men treated for the disease are struggling with mental health, sexual and tiredness problems after treatment
- around 42% of men reported experiencing anxiety or depression after treatment
- lack of sexual function is having the highest impact on quality of life, with a quality of life score significantly lower that recorded in previous clinical studies
- use of, and satisfaction with, medication and devices to help erections is very low
- patients who have received two or more treatments have substantial lower quality of life scores.
We conducted the study because we wanted to give patients an idea of what to expect after treatment. We also wanted to raise awareness of quality of life – not just survival – as an important issue in prostate cancer.
Andre Deschamps, Europa Uomo Chairman