Prostate cancer treatment leads to sexual dysfunction; drugs help reverse this especially if used in combination with Acetyl-L-Carnitine

The number of people living with and surviving cancer is growing. This naturally leads to increased awareness of the importance of quality of life including sexual function in survivors. Sexual dysfunction is a long-term complication of many cancer treatments.

A number of powerful databases were searched for studies collectively evaluated and restricted to randomized controlled trials (RCT) that assessed the effectiveness of treatment for sexual dysfunction in cancer survivors. Eleven RCT that included 1743 participants were analyzed. The strongest evidence for effectiveness supported the use of drugs that are phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (Cialis, Levitra, and Viagra) following treatments for prostate cancer such as radiation or prostate removal surgery. The studies also show that these drugs work better in these individuals if accompanied by Acetyl-L-Carnitine.

The study is published in the October 17th, 2007 issue of the Cochrane Database of Systemic Reviews.