Purpose: We examined changes in health related quality of life during the 12 months before death in men with prostate cancer.
Materials and methods: We studied patients from CapSure, which is a longitudinal observational cohort of men with biopsy proved prostate cancer treated in community and academic urology practices across the United States. Of all men in the cohort who died while being followed for prostate cancer 131 who had submitted health related quality of life surveys during the 6 months before death were included in this analysis. Health related quality of life was measured with the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, an established validated instrument that comprises 4 physical and 4 mental domains.
Results: On univariate analysis all 8 domains of the 36-Item Health Survey substantially decreased in the final year of life. On multivariate analysis only physical function decreased more rapidly in men dying of prostate cancer compared to those dying of other cancer or benign causes.
Conclusions: Quality of life begins a steady and inexorable decline in the final 12 months of life in men with prostate cancer. Increased attention to quality of life changes may provide new clinical opportunities to enhance quality of care in the final year of life in these men.