Examining the impact of androgen deprivation therapy, masculine self-esteem, and psychological flexibility on distress and quality of life in men with prostate cancer.

Objective: Studies suggest that androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) exacerbates psychological and quality of life (QoL) issues associated with prostate cancer (PCa). However, quantitative research examining underlying psychosocial mechanisms for this is limited. We examined the association of PCa symptoms with distress and QoL in ADT-treated and ADT-naïve patients, and the influence of masculine self-esteem and psychological flexibility (PF) on these relationships.