Assessment of Radiotherapy induced female sexual morbidity in cancer cervix patients

Abstract

Background: Radiotherapy  has  several  long  term  side  effects  in  cancer  cervix  patients  involving  rectum,  urinary  bladder, small  intestine  and  bone  marrow.  Sexual  morbidity  in  these  patients  is  not  the  priority  for  treating  oncologist  and  hence usually not discussed This study aims to evaluate the sexual morbidity in cancer cervix patients treated with radiotherapy.

Methods: All patients who presented in our department with a minimum of 6 month follow up between August 2020  and  March  2021  after undergoing  radiotherapy  for  cancer  cervix  were  included  in  the  study.  These  patients  were assessed using EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire which is to evaluate overall quality of  life and specific  symptoms, including sexual health concerns.

Results: There were 70 patients with a median follow up of 12 months. 87.1% patients were sexually active (p=0.01). The most common post radiotherapy complications is vaginal stenosis (85.7%) followed by vaginal dryness (72.8%).  The  most  common  complaints  of  the  patients  were dyspareunia  (85.7%),  reduced  orgasm  (82.8%)  and  vaginal bleeding (85.7%). 58.5 % patients were distressed with their sex life in comparison to pre radiotherapy period (p value 0.04).

Conclusion: Sexual  dysfunction  is  a  distressing  issue  among  women  undergoing  radiotherapy  for  cervical  cancer,  with substantial impact on their quality of life. Counselling regarding sexual morbidity before treatment and consulting various interventions may alleviate the physical and psychological distress.