(389) Highlighting the Necessity of Cancer Survivorship Clinics in Rural America: Urologic Malignancy as an Independent Risk Factor of ED
Authors: Werner Z , Barnard J , Trump T , Wasef K 
Published: May 2023

Abstract

Introduction
Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects up to 30 million men in the United States and as many as 150 million men worldwide. Although the most common contributing factors such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes currently receive the most attention, cancer diagnosis as an independent risk factor deserves further scrutiny. Prior studies have shown increased incidence of ED in cancer patients with both direct and indirect pathways postulated. Despite this, documentation of a history of ED before and after cancer treatment remains understudied.

Objective
To document the difference in SHIM scores between a group of patients carrying a urologic malignancy diagnosis and a second group of general urologic patients. Secondary endpoints included prevalence of several comorbid conditions and descriptive statistics of ED prevalence and both desire for and treatment of ED.

Methods
A standardized questionnaire was prospectively administered at a tertiary care academic urology clinic which treats all forms of urologic malignancy in a rural population of about 2 million. The survey included the validated Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM), information regarding oncologic diagnosis, and comorbid medical conditions including BPH, tobacco use disorder, alcohol consumption, diabetes, depression, hypertension, and high cholesterol. Surveys were administered pre- and post-treatment to all consenting patients. The control group consisted of male urologic patients with no present or past diagnosis of urologic malignancy (UM). Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare means for continuous variables and chi-squared tests for categorical variable comparison.

Results
A total of 762 patients completed the entire survey, with 214 (28.1%) patients reporting a history of UM. Sixty-one (28.1%) were bladder cancer diagnoses with an additional 83 (38.8%) renal cancer and 125 (58.4%) prostate cancer. Analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in mean SHIM scores between patients with UM and without UM (p &lt;0.05), with SHIM total mean 15.478 +/− 7.823 in UM patients while non-oncologic patients scored 17.598 +/− 7.574. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of 7 of the 8 studied comorbid conditions (HTN p=0.007). Only 2.8% of oncology patients reported receiving treatment for ED while 64% reported interest in receiving treatment for ED.

Conclusions
Urologic malignancy is significantly associated with lower SHIM scores. More striking however is the large discrepancy between those interested in treatment and those receiving it, especially at a tertiary care academic center. As a result, our institution is working towards a urologic cancer survivorship protocol involving evaluation by a sexual dysfunction specialist within one year of treatment or earlier. The present study emphasizes the need for physician vigilance and both physician and patient education to improve outcomes in a distressed population.

Disclosure
No