This is the first study to determine whether there is a relationship between penile bulb radiation dose and urinary incontinence.
METHODS
This study comprises 131 patients with localized, locally advanced, and pelvic oligometastatic prostate
cancer treated at our institution. All patients were treated with IMRT between February 2016 and August
2020. Urinary incontinence after the treatment was assessed retrospectively using a standardized
follow-up program based on data available at our center. The urinary incontinence was scored using the
CTCAE version 5.0 scoring system. In univariate analysis, the Mann-Whitney test was used to detect any
association between penile bulb V50 doses and membranous urethral length on urinary incontinence.
RESULTS
Urinary incontinence after the treatment was reported in 17 of 131 patients. The average penile bulb V50
values of patients with incontinence were 28.66 gy and 26.8 in patients who did not have urinary incontinence.
The mean membranous urethral length was 3.01cm in patients with incontinence and 3.34cm
in patients without incontinence. Although these parameters have minimal difference in patients with
and without incontinence, they are not statistically significant (p>0.05 all).
CONCLUSION
Radiation-induced urinary incontinence was not associated with the radiation dose of the penile bulb
and membranous urethral length. However, further studies are essential.