Erectile dysfunction after surgical treatment of lung cancer: Real-world evidence

Background: Sexual problems are common in male lung cancer survivors. However, the development of erectile dysfunction (ED) in lung cancer patients after surgery has been rarely explored. In this study, we aimed to explore the incidence and risk factors of ED after lung cancer surgery. Methods: From 2000 to 2012, 6025 and 24,100 male patients were included in each matched cohort of lung cancer and non-lung cancer patients, respectively. Poisson regression analysis was used to calculate the incidence rate ratio (IRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: The incidence of ED was higher in the lung cancer cohort compared to the non-lung cancer cohort (38.47 vs 28.28 per 10,000 person-years) with an adjusted IRR (aIRR) of 1.34 (95% CI: 1.06–1.70, p=0.014) after the confounders were adjusted for. An increased incidence of ED was observed in the lung cancer cohort aged 40–54 years (aIRR: 5.44, 95% CI: 2.25–13.15, p<0.001), 55–64 years (aIRR: 3.62, 95% CI: 1.61–8.17, p=0.002) years, and anxiety (aIRR: 2.99, 95% CI: 1.81–4.94, p<0.001). In addition, a higher incidence of emergency room (ER) visits (aIRR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.98–2.42, p<0.001) was observed in lung cancer patients with ED compared to those without ED. Conclusion: Our study results suggested that early surveillance and intervention of ED should be advocated in lung cancer patients after surgery.