RATIONALE: Quality of life assessment in patients undergoing prostate cancer treatment may help determine the intermediate-term and long-term effects of surgery and brachytherapy.

PURPOSE: Randomized clinical trial to study quality of life in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy or brachytherapy for stage II prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES:

• Compare changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with stage II prostate cancer up to 2 years after treatment with radical prostatectomy or brachytherapy.
• Compare the effect of baseline HRQOL, age, and other covariates on HRQOL improvement or deterioration in these patients up to 10 years after these treatments.
• Compare the effect of treatment modality on HRQOL improvement or deterioration in these patients up to 10 years after these treatments.
• Compare the effects of treatment failure on HRQOL, in terms of disease progression, in these patients.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms on ACOSOG-Z0070 (radical prostatectomy vs brachytherapy).

Patients in both arms complete a quality of life questionnaire at baseline, 2 and 6 months after treatment, and then at 1, 2, 4, 7, and 10 years after treatment.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 500 patients (250 per group) will be accrued for this study within 2 years.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the prostate within the past 120 days

  • Stage II disease (T1c-T2a, N0, M0)

• Concurrent enrollment on ACOSOG-Z0070

  • Not yet randomized to an intervention arm (radical prostatectomy or brachytherapy)

• Willing and able to complete heath-related quality of life questionnaires

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• 75 and under

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Endocrine therapy

• More than 6 months since prior hormonal therapy for prostate cancer

Patients diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the prostate and previously enrolled on ACOSOG-Z0070.