Time course and predictors of symptoms after primary prostate cancer therapy.

Purpose: Understanding the distinctive patterns of treatment-related dysfunction after alternative initial treatments for early prostate cancer (PC) may improve patients' choice of treatment and later help them adjust to its consequences. We characterized the time course of treatment complications while adjusting for potentially confounding pretreatment factors hindering other observational studies.

Patients And Methods: In a prospective cohort study of 417 men we assessed urinary, bowel, and sexual function from before primary treatment to 24 months after.