Return-to-work after radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Abstract

218 Background: Returning to work following cancer treatment is a sign of recovery. The purpose of this study was to determine how many patients return to work following definitive intensity-modulated radiotherapy for prostate cancer (PCa). Methods: The Danish DREAM-database contains information on all social benefits paid out to Danish citizens. The data are recorded prospectively every week. Based on the DREAM-database it is possible to assess whether a patient is working, on sick leave, or retired. Data on 410 of the 451 Danish citizens, treated with definitive intensity-modulated radiotherapy for PCa at our center between January 1 2006 and May 1 2010, were obtained from the DREAM-database one year prior to radiotherapy, at the start and at the end of the radiotherapy, and finally one year after radiotherapy was completed. The median age was 66 (age range, 49–76). Patients were divided into five different categories. The categories were “Working or unemployed”, “Sick leave”, “Disability pension”, “Retirement” and “Dead”. Results: The results are shown in the table. Nearly 30% of the patients are working or available for work one year prior to the radiotherapy. This number is reduced to about 12 % at the time of both the start and the end of the radiation treatment. One year after treatment nearly 20% are working. Conclusions: This study shows that a substantial proportion of patients return to work following definitive radiotherapy for PCa. This indicates that the treatment in many cases does not affect the patients’ ability to work. Further research should be on why some patients stop working after completion of definitive radiotherapy for PCa. [Table: see text]