Comparison of Quality of Life and Sexuality between Cervical Cancer Survivors and Healthy Women
PURPOSE:
The
purpose of this study is to compare quality of life (QoL) and sexual
functioning between sexually active cervical cancer survivors and healthy women.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
In
this cross-sectional study, propensity-score-matched cervical cancer survivors
(n=104) and healthy women (n=104) were compared. All women had engaged in
sexual activity within the previous 3 months, and cervical cancer survivors showed
no evidence of disease after primary treatment. QoL and sexual functioning were
assessed using three questionnaires; the European Organization for Research and
Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30),
Cervical Cancer Module (EORTC QLQ-CX24), and the Female Sexual Function Index
(FSFI).
RESULTS:
Significantly
higher scores for lymphedema were observed in the cervical cancer survivors
group compared with the healthy women group (mean, 20.2 vs. 12.2; P < 0.05).
Sexuality, both in terms of sexual activity, sexual enjoyment, and sexual worry
(EORTC QLQ-CX24), and in terms of desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm,
satisfaction, and pain (FSFI) were similar between the groups. When the scale
of sexual/vaginal functioning in EORTC QLQ-CX24 was divided into individual
questions, cervical cancer survivors reported shorter vaginal length than the
control group, but without statistical significance (mean, 80.6 vs. 85.4; P =
0.077).
CONCLUSION:
Compared
with healthy women, sexuality was not impaired in cervical cancer survivors who
showed no evidence of disease after primary treatment and engaging in sexual
activity. Further prospective cohort studies are warranted.
- 1Center for Uterine Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
- 2Gynecologic Cancer Branch, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
- 3Department of Cancer Control, Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
- 4Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- 5Biometric Research Branch, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
- Cancer Res Treat. 2016 Feb 12. doi: 10.4143/crt.2015.425.
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