AccScience Publishing / Bladder / Online First / DOI: 10.14440/bladder.2024.0046
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Assessment of lower urinary tract symptoms and their impact on quality of life following radiation therapy for bladder cancer

Josephine Hyldgaard1* ,  Anne Birgitte Als1 ,  Benedicte Ulhøi1 ,  Jørgen Jensen1 ,  Charlotte Graugaard-Jensen1
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1 Department of Urology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N 8200, Aarhus, Denmark
Bladder, e21200033 https://doi.org/10.14440/bladder.2024.0046
Submitted: 16 October 2024 | Revised: 11 December 2024 | Accepted: 13 January 2025 | Published: 21 February 2025
© 2025 by the Bladder published by POL Scientific. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Background: Radiation therapy is a common treatment modality for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (BC). Unfortunately, approximately 5 – 10% of treated patients suffer from long-term complications, such as radiation cystitis. While radiation cystitis initially causes urinary symptoms, it can progress to chronic late effects over time. This treatment may have significant physical and psychological implications for cancer survivors. Methods: This prospective, observational multicenter study was conducted in Denmark from 2020 to 2023. Male patients undergoing radiation treatment for BC were included and stratified into two groups based on radiation strategy: 64 Gy/32 fractions versus 36 Gy/6 fractions. Patients completed baseline and follow-up questionnaires assessing lower urinary tract symptoms and quality of life (QoL). Results: A total of 26 patients were enrolled into the study, with three patients withdrawing consent. Eleven patients were assigned to the 64 Gy/32 fraction group and 12 to the 36 Gy/6 fraction group. At baseline, patients receiving 64 Gy/32 fraction reported a lower impact on QoL, with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) score of 2 (24) compared to 20 (27) in the 36 Gy/6 fraction group. At the 4-month follow-up, the median (IQR) total QoL score was 25 (27) in the 64 Gy 32 fraction group and 6 (14) in the 36 Gy/6 fraction group. At 12 months, the scores were 16 (35) and 3 (3), respectively. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the total radiation dose has a greater impact on urinary symptoms and QoL than the fractionation strategy. However, due to the low inclusion rate, these findings should be interpreted with caution.

Keywords
Bladder cancer
Radiation therapy
Radiation cystitis
Quality of life
Late effects
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Bladder, Electronic ISSN: 2327-2120 Print ISSN: TBA, Published by POL Scientific
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