Use of a modified American Urological Association Symptom Score for the evaluation of the quality of life of patients with prostate cancer

Abstract Objectives. To present our experience with the clinical use of a modified American Urological Association Symptom Score (AUASS) and a quality-of-life (QOL) questionnaire in obtaining clinically available information and to investigate whether a relatively short questionnaire, administered in the clinic, can help in identifying symptoms and QOL issues associated with various types of definitive treatments (DTs) for prostate cancer (PCa) and its impact on patients’ QOL. Methods. The AUASS was modified to contain questions on continence and was combined with a short QOL questionnaire. It was administered to control groups and all patients with PCa during their clinic visit. The responses were analyzed and correlated with the DT of PCa. Results. The questionnaire was administered 846 times to 375 patients with PCa and to 170 controls during clinic visits. We found that patients on watchful waiting had symptom scores and QOL responses similar to controls and that DT was associated with worse scores and a reduced QOL. DT with continence was associated with a better QOL than DT with incontinence. Incontinence of either urine or stool, among DT patients, had similar adverse impact on QOL, compared with continent DT patients. Conclusions. The questionnaire, administered in a clinical setting, provides insight into the QOL and symptoms associated with interventions aimed at curing PCa. The use of such a questionnaire enhances the objective documentation of treatment outcomes of PCa and benefits the patients by increasing their opportunities to express their problems.