Publications by authors named "Kathleen Herkommer"
Background: Frailty is emerging as an important determinant for quality of life (QoL) and emotional health in older patients with cancer, and specifically in long-term prostate cancer survivors, but quantitative studies are lacking. The current study assesses the prevalence of frailty and its association with QoL and emotional health in long-term prostate cancer survivors after radical prostatectomy.
Patients And Methods: A total of 2,979 prostate cancer survivors from the multicenter German Familial Prostate Cancer cohort completed questionnaires on frailty (Groningen Frailty Indicator [GFI]), QoL (EORTC QoL Questionnaire-Core 30), and emotional health (anxiety/depression symptoms via the Patient Health Questionnaire-4).
Article Synopsis
- Vasectomy is a common and effective contraceptive method among middle-aged men in Germany, with only 12.5% of the studied population having undergone the procedure.
- This study assessed the sexual function of 5,425 heterosexual men, revealing that vasectomized men had lower rates of erectile dysfunction and were generally more satisfied with their sexual lives compared to those who were not vasectomized.
- Overall, the findings suggest that vasectomy does not negatively impact sexual function and may even improve sexual satisfaction among middle-aged men.
Background: The Erectile Function Domain of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF6) is inaccurate in assessing erectile function in men who are not practicing sexual intercourse. Improvement through a modification was recently tested on patients after radical prostatectomy. This study examines the application of this modification in a population-based cohort of middle-aged men.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Radical prostatectomy (RP) is one of the most common therapeutic strategies for treating localized prostate cancer (PCa). Currently, the significance of postoperative functional limitations for affected patients in the long-term course, especially in comparison to age-related comorbidities, is unclear.
Objective: The aim of this study was to quantify the prevalence of subjective health restrictions alongside functional deficits in long-term PCa survivors after RP and their relevance for subjective impairments in everyday life.
Background: Risk-adjusted screening for prostate cancer (PCa) aims to reduce harms by less frequent retesting, especially in men at a low risk of PCa. Definitions of low risk are based mainly on studies in men starting screening at age 55-60 yr.
Objective: To identify men at age 45 yr with a low risk of PCa.
Purpose: mpMRI is routinely used to stratify the risk of clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) in men with elevated PSA values before biopsy. This study aimed to calculate a multivariable risk model incorporating standard risk factors and mpMRI findings for predicting csPCa on subsequent prostate biopsy.
Methods: Data from 677 patients undergoing mpMRI ultrasound fusion biopsy of the prostate at the TUM University Hospital tertiary urological center between 2019 and 2023 were analyzed.
Purpose: The recent restriction on the use of fluoroquinolones for prophylaxis by the European Commission has left a gap in clear recommendations for practical antibiotic prophylaxis (PAP) for transrectal prostate biopsy (TRPB). This analysis investigated the viability of cotrimoxazole for PAP in TRPB.
Methods: This analysis included n = 697 patients who underwent TRPB for suspected prostate cancer (PCa).
Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been suggested as a tool for guiding biopsy recommendations in prostate cancer (PC) screening.
Objective: To determine the performance of multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) in young men at age 45 yr who participated in a PC screening trial (PROBASE) on the basis of baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA).
Design, Setting, And Participants: Participants with confirmed PSA ≥3 ng/ml were offered mpMRI followed by MRI/transrectal ultrasound fusion biopsy (FBx) with targeted and systematic cores.
Background: Annual digital rectal examination (DRE) is recommended as a stand-alone screening test for prostate cancer (PCa) in Germany for 45+ yr olds. DRE diagnostic performance in men as young as 45 yr old has not been proved by a screening trial.
Objective: To determine DRE diagnostic performance in a screening trial.
Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED), premature ejaculation (PE), and low libido (LL) are reported as the most common male sexual dysfunctions.
Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of ED, PE, and LL and associations with lifestyle risk factors and comorbidities in middle-aged men.
Materials And Methods: This study included a population-based random sample of 2500 50-year-old men who completed validated questionnaires, including the International Index of Erectile Function, the Erection Hardness Score, the Sexual Complaints Screener, and further questionnaires.
Article Synopsis
- This study looked at how the experience of doctors affects the success of a special biopsy method used to find prostate cancer.
- Out of 576 men tested, 72% had prostate cancer, but only 11% found cancer through additional systematic biopsies, mostly done by less experienced doctors.
- The results showed that as doctors got more experience, the need for these additional biopsies decreased, meaning more experienced doctors had fewer problems finding cancer in the targeted areas.
Background: Patients with localized prostate cancer (PC) are faced with a wide spectrum of therapeutic options at initial diagnosis. Following radical prostatectomy (RP), PC patients may experience regret regarding their initial choice of treatment, especially when oncological and functional outcomes are poor. Impacts of psychosocial factors on decision regret, especially after long-term follow-up, are not well understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Benefit finding (BF) - the occurrence of positive life-changes in the aftermath of traumatic live events - has been repeatedly reported in prostate cancer (PCa) survivors, but it remains unclear in which way BF might vary over time. The current study aimed to investigate the extent of BF and associated factors in different phases of the survivorship continuum.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, men affected by PCa who were either already treated with radical prostatectomy or going to be treated with radical prostatectomy at a large German PCa center were included.
Purpose: The objective of the current study was to assess whether and how preoperative risk group distribution and pathological outcomes have changed in men treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) over the past 25 years.
Methods: 11,071 patients from a large contemporary registry-based nationwide cohort with RP as primary treatment between 1995 and 2019 were included. Preoperative risk stratification, postoperative outcomes, and 10 years other-cause mortality (OCM) were analyzed.
Objectives: To investigate prevalence, course, and predictors of longitudinal decision regret in long-term prostate cancer (PCa) survivors treated by radical prostatectomy (RP).
Patients And Methods: A total of 1003 PCa survivors from the multicentre German Familial PCa Database completed questionnaires on average 7 years after RP in 2007 and at follow-up 13 years later in 2020. Patients completed standardised patient-reported outcome measures on decision regret, decision-making, health-related quality of life, and psychosocial factors.
Background: Prostate cancer (PC)-related anxiety is associated with clinically significant declines in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and psychological well-being. This longitudinal study investigates course and predictors of PC-related anxiety in long-term PC survivors treated by radical prostatectomy (RP).
Methods: Two thousand nine hundred and three survivors from the multicenter German Familial PC Database completed the Memorial Anxiety Scale for PC on average 11 years after RP at the initial assessment in 2015 and then 5 years later.
PROBASE is a population-based, randomized trial of 46 495 German men recruited at age 45 to compare effects of risk-adapted prostate cancer (PCa) screening starting either immediately at age 45, or at a deferred age of 50 years. Based on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, men are classified into risk groups with different screening intervals: low-risk (<1.5 ng/ml, 5-yearly screening), intermediate-risk (1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To identify factors associated with cancer-related self-perception after being affected by prostate cancer (PCa) and radical prostatectomy.
Subjects And Methods: Men affected by PCa and radical prostatectomy were asked to choose one of 5 cancer-related identities ("patient," "victim," "someone who has had cancer," "cancer survivor," and "cancer conqueror"). Associations with clinical data, functional outcome (continence and sexual activity), and psychological factors were assessed.
Background: We compared six commonly used logistic regression methods for accommodating missing risk factor data from multiple heterogeneous cohorts, in which some cohorts do not collect some risk factors at all, and developed an online risk prediction tool that accommodates missing risk factors from the end-user.
Methods: Ten North American and European cohorts from the Prostate Biopsy Collaborative Group (PBCG) were used for fitting a risk prediction tool for clinically significant prostate cancer, defined as Gleason grade group ≥ 2 on standard TRUS prostate biopsy. One large European PBCG cohort was withheld for external validation, where calibration-in-the-large (CIL), calibration curves, and area-underneath-the-receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) were evaluated.
Objective: Cytoreductive radical prostatectomy (cRP) has been proposed as local treatment option in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) to prevent local complications and potentially improve oncological outcomes. In this study, we examined the feasibility of a multimodal concept with primary chemohormonal therapy followed by cRP and analyzed prostate size reduction under systemic treatment, postoperative complication rates, as well as early postoperative continence.
Methods: In this retrospective study, 38 patients with mHSPC underwent cRP after primary chemohormonal therapy (3-monthly luteinising hormone-releasing hormone-analogue + six cycles 3-weekly docetaxel 75 mg/m) at two centers between September 2015 and December 2018.
There is no generally accepted screening strategy for prostate cancer (PCa). From February 2014 to December 2019 a randomized trial (PROBASE) recruited 46 642 men at age 45 to determine the efficacy of risk-adapted prostate-specific antigen-based (PSA) screening, starting at either 45 or 50 years. PSA tests are used to classify participants into a low (<1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To improve allocation of psychosocial care and to provide patient-oriented support offers, identification of determinants of elevated distress is needed. So far, there is a lack of evidence investigating the interplay between individual disposition and current clinical and psychosocial determinants of distress in the inpatient setting.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we investigated 879 inpatients with different cancer sites treated in a German Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Background: Individuals affected by cancer need to integrate this experience into their personal biography as their life continues after primary therapy, leading to substantial changes in self-perception. This study identified factors uniquely associated with 5 different cancer-related identities in order to improve the understanding of how self-perception in men affected by prostate cancer is associated with certain clinical and psychosocial characteristics.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, long-term prostate cancer survivors after radical prostatectomy were asked to choose one of 5 cancer-related identities that described them best.
Background: Although fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) or disease progression is among the most endorsed unmet needs and concerns of cancer survivors, research on the course of FCR in long-term survivors is scarce. The objective of this study was to assess longitudinally the prevalence and predictors of FCR in long-term prostate cancer (PCa) survivors.
Methods: In all, 2417 survivors from the multicenter German Familial Prostate Cancer Database completed the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form on average 7 years (T1 in 2010) after radical prostatectomy and at follow-up 9 years later (T2 in 2019).