Health-related quality of life in a sample of patients with prostate cancer: a cross-sectional multicentre survey

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an essential outcome of disease management. Therefore, this study assessed Prostate cancer (PCa) patients’ HRQOL, the relationship between each HRQOL domain and PCa-specific parametres, and the effect of patient parametres on PCa-related QOL. A cross-sectional study of 200 PCa patients in three reference hospitals in Nigeria was conducted within a 12-month study period using the FACT-P. All persons diagnosed with PCa who visited the hospitals within the study period were included. Ethical approval (UCTH/HREC/33/582) was obtained from the Health Research Ethics Committee of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital. Collected data were analysed using SPSS version 25 for descriptive and inferential statistics. P < 0.05. A majority of the 200 participants had over half of the maximum FACT-P score for HRQOL. Among the five domains of the FACT-P, the strongest relationship was observed between physical well-being (PWB) and functional well-being (FWB) (T b = 0.639; p < 0.001), followed by the relationship between FWB and emotional well-being (EWB) (T b = 0.548; p < 0.001). The least form of relationship was found between social/family well-being (SWB) and PWB which showed a weak correlation (T b = 0.243; p < 0.001). PWB was negatively related to prostate specific antigens (T b = -0.137; p = 0.05) and Gleason score (GS) (T b = -0.148; p = 0.004). Year of diagnosis (df = 8; F = 2.814; P = 0.006), the use of over-the-counter medicines (df = 1; F = 9.832; p = 0.002) and GS (df = 9; F = 8.909; < p = 0.001) significantly influenced HRQOL. Most participants had above half of the maximum attainable HRQOL, and the participants’ FWB depended on their PWB which also significantly influenced their EWB. High PSA and GS resulted in poorer HRQOL, while some patient-specific parametres including older age, significantly influenced HRQOL. The study highlights significant findings that could be explored to enhance personalised treatment approaches to improve PCa patients’ HRQOL in similar settings.