Prostate cancer patients have an unmet need regarding the management of treatment-related sexual dysfunction. Men with advanced prostate cancer need greater support from oncologists in this regard. The findings were published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.
Sixty-three uro-oncologists of the British Uro-Oncology Group attending the 2019 annual meeting completed a 14-question survey designed to establish the current practice in the management of sexual dysfunction resulting from radiotherapy and androgen deprivation therapy.
Fifty-six per cent of the respondents said that 'advanced stage of disease' was a barrier to discussing sexual dysfunction with patients. Other important barriers stated by clinicians were lack of time, patient reluctance to discuss sexual function, lack of confidence in management strategies for sexual dysfunction, language/ethnicity/cultural/religious factors and inadequate training.
Only 11 per cent of clinicians agreed that the management of sexual dysfunction was primarily their responsibility. Despite 92 per cent of clinicians being able to refer patients with sexual dysfunction to specialist clinics, 32 per cent said they ‘always’ or ‘usually’ referred patients with localised disease. The figure decreased to 14 per cent for locally advanced disease and 8 per cent for metastatic disease.
"Relatively small improvements in support may help men and their partners manage and adapt to changes in their sexual function. This could help raise the proportion of men who remain sexually active and improve their quality of life, emotional wellbeing, mental health and confidence," the authors said.
