From diagnosis to post-treatment: biopsychosocial predictors of sexual and mental health in prostate cancer survivors

Abstract

<h3>Objectives</h3> The increasing incidence of prostate cancer, along with earlier detection and longer survival years has been raising clinician's questions on how to better treat this disease. Radical prostatectomy is one of the most common treatments, although it can have severe consequences, such as changes in sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction, thus affecting the quality of life and mental health. These difficulties can significantly decrease the adherence to treatment protocols and lead to drop-outs. Under the Horizon Europe funding programme for research and innovation, this multicentric project, combining the specialities of urology, psychology, and neuroscience, aims to investigate (1) the biopsychosocial predictors of mental and sexual health in prostate cancer and (2) the neural correlates of sexual functioning in prostate cancer, so as to develop a predictive model regarding post-treatment adjustment and sexual well-being. <h3>Methods</h3> 300 Men with prostate cancer indicated to radical prostatectomy will be assessed before surgery and nine months afterwards. A subset of 250 individuals will participate in semi-structured interviews and complete self-report psychological measures so as to monitor sexual and mental health. The remainder will take part in a laboratory experiment, with neuroimaging techniques and other physiological measures, in order to identify the neural underpinnings of sexual response in relation to prostate cancer and radical prostatectomy. <h3>Results</h3> Results will contribute to the development of a mathematical algorithm, built by Machine Learning experts, that will help predict the biopsychosocial risk and protective factors for sexual health and mental well-being in men with prostate cancer. <h3>Conclusions</h3> This study tackles an important health issue in an innovative way, by combining a longitudinal and a laboratorial/experimental design and integrating a wide range of procedures. Furthermore, the development of a prediction model that covers such broad sexual health determinants, is a promising tool that can help clinicians improve their intervention strategies. <h3>Conflicts of Interest</h3> All the authors declate no known conflict of interest. This project is funded by Horizonte Europa (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000057), via the Support System for Scientific and Tecnological Research NORTE-45-2020-75, CCDRN.