Frequency and risk factors of sleep disturbances in patients with prostate cancer assigned to local or loco-regional radiotherapy

Background/Aim: Many patients with prostate cancer receive definitive or adjuvant radiotherapy. This study aimed to identify the frequency of sleep disturbances and corresponding risk factors prior to radiation treatment. Patients and Methods: Data of 48 patients assigned to local or loco-regional irradiation for prostate cancer were retrospectively analyzed for pre-radiotherapy sleep disturbances. Fifteen characteristics were analyzed including age, performance status, comorbidity, history of previous malignancy, distress score, (emotional, physical or practical) problems, prostate-specific antigen, primary tumor stage, Gleason-score, upfront androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), treatment volume, brachytherapy, and COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Pre-radiotherapy sleep disturbances were reported by 20.8% of patients and significantly associated with distress scores ≥4 (p<0.0001) and ≥3 physical problems (p=0.0001). Trends were found for Karnofsky performance score ≤80 (p=0.095), Gleason score 7b-9 (p=0.079), and ADT (p=0.067). Conclusion: Pre-radiotherapy sleep disturbances were less common in prostate cancer patients than in other cancer patients. Risk factors were identified that can help identify patients requiring psychological support prior to radiotherapy.