Meeting paper
SGS paper
Pelvic floor disorders and sexual function in gynecologic cancer survivors: a cohort study

Presented at the 36th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons, Tucson, AZ, April 12-14, 2010.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2010.08.004Get rights and content

Objective

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of pelvic floor disorders and sexual function in survivors of gynecologic cancer.

Study Design

We surveyed survivors of gynecologic cancer (survivors) and women seeking gynecologic care (control patients) who were >30 years old. All survivors were disease- and treatment-free for ≥1 year. Validated questionnaires were used to evaluate pelvic floor disorders.

Results

One hundred eight control patient and 260 survivor questionnaires were completed. A high prevalence of pelvic floor disorders was observed in both groups; 56% of control subjects and 70% of survivors reported moderate to severe urinary incontinence (P > .05). Survivors were more likely to experience fecal incontinence (42% vs 32%; P = .02). Survivors reported less sexual desire (P = .04) and less ability to climax (P = .04), despite no difference in dyspareunia.

Conclusion

Fecal incontinence and sexual dysfunction are significant problems in survivors of gynecologic cancer.

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

This study was performed at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center through the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Institutional review board approval was obtained. Our control patients were women at a general gynecology clinic who were ≥30 years old without a diagnosis of cancer. Our survivors of gynecologic cancer were women who attended the gynecologic oncology clinics for routine surveillance visits who were ≥30 years old and had a history of uterine, cervical, ovarian, or

Results

One hundred eight gynecologic patients and 260 cancer survivor questionnaires were completed. Demographic data are summarized in Table 1. Survivors of cancer were older (57 ± 12 vs 47 ± 10 years; P < .001) and were more likely to be in a committed relationship (46% vs 34 %; P = .04) but did not differ from control patients with respect to race, except there were more Native American women in the cancer survivor group (16 vs 8%; P = .03), which demonstrated the referral pattern for cancer care

Comment

We found that UI and pelvic organ prolapse did not differ between survivor and gynecologic control groups, although survivors of cancer were more likely to report bothersome fecal incontinence symptoms, less sexual activity, and lower sexual function scores. Rates of UI were not different between groups, but UI was the most common pelvic floor disorder in both groups. Despite the prevalence and the adverse impact on quality of life, few survivors had been asked about these problems by their

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Cite this article as: Rutledge TL, Heckman SR, Qualls C, et al. Pelvic floor disorders and sexual function in gynecologic cancer survivors: a cohort study. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010;203:514.e1-7.

Authorship and contribution to the article is limited to the 5 authors indicated. There was no outside funding or technical assistance with the production of this article.

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