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Problems in defining sexual dysfunction in prostate cancer patients

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 33, pages 391–392 (2021)Cite this article

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Sexual function is one of the main outcomes that aims to keep the patient with prostate cancer (PCa) intact, whether after conservative therapies or active treatment. The definition of recovery of erectile function (EF) after radical prostatectomy (RP) is still controversial and there is currently no standardized definition. To partially remedy this, the 2010 International Consensus for Sexual Medicine committee proposed the SHIM IIEF-5 questionnaire as a validated psychometric instrument with recognized cut-off values for normality and severity during pre and post-operative patient evaluations. This is a validated questionnaire that establishes how a cut off a score greater than 22 is considered normal EF [1, 2]. On the other hand, some pitfalls exist when sexuality, a complex part of man well-being, is assessed by a questionnaire.

In clinical practice, the assessment of preoperative sexual function is entrusted almost exclusively to the compilation by the patient before surgery. At this stage it is extremely important to emphasize that the patient does not always have full self-awareness and often, out of shame or modesty, tends to not correctly report his sexual power. So inevitably, when we evaluate the recovery of sexual function postoperatively, we will have an untruthful result.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urology Section, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

    Marina Di Mauro, Giuseppe Morgia & Giorgio Ivan Russo

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  1. Marina Di Mauro
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  2. Giuseppe Morgia
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  3. Giorgio Ivan Russo
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Correspondence to Giorgio Ivan Russo.

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Di Mauro, M., Morgia, G. & Russo, G.I. Problems in defining sexual dysfunction in prostate cancer patients. Int J Impot Res 33, 391–392 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-020-00350-2

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