Prevention of erectile dysfunction after radiotherapy for prostate cancer

Abstract

With increasing scrutiny of prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis and treatment, much attention has been given to the morbidity caused by radical prostatectomy (RP) and/or radiotherapy (RT). One of the most common side-effects of either treatment is erectile dysfunction (ED). [1] Approximately, 40% of patients will experience ED after RT for PCa. The post-RT ED causes significant patient dissatisfaction with cancer treatment as well as decrease in patient and partner psychosocial function. [2] To address this issue in patients undergoing RT, Pisansky et al. [3] conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of a phosphodiesterase enzyme-5 inhibitor (PDE5i), tadalafil, as a preventive measure for patients undergoing RT for PCa and found no difference in erectile function between the control and treatment groups.