Sexual function and chemotherapy in postmenopausal women with breast cancer

BMC Women's Health

Research Article

Caroline Vieira Pinheiro¹  Rodrigo Cericatto¹  Jorge Villanova Biazús¹  Carlos Henrique Menke¹  Fernando Schuh¹  Nilton Leite Xavier¹  José Antônio Crespo Cavalheiro¹  Ana Cristina da Costa Bittelbrunn¹  Eduardo Pandolfi Passos² 

[1] Breast Care Unit, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil;Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil; Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil;

关键词: Sexual function;    Breast cancer;    Chemotherapy;    Sexuality;    FSFI;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1472-6874-12-28

 received in 2012-02-27, accepted in 2012-08-31,  发布年份 2012

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThis cross-sectional, nested cohort study assessed Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) scores in postmenopausal women with breast cancer receiving primary chemotherapy.MethodsThe FSFI questionnaire was administered to 24 postmenopausal women one month after diagnosis of breast cancer (post-diagnosis group) and one month after completion of the first cycle of primary anthracyclin-based chemotherapy (post-chemotherapy group). Scores were compared to those of 24 healthy postmenopausal women seeking routine gynecological care (control group). All patients were sexually active at the time of enrollment. Mean age was 57.29 ± 11.82 years in the breast cancer group and 52.58 ± 7.19 years in the control group.ResultsScores in all domains of the FSFI instrument were significantly lower in the post-diagnosis group than in controls (−41.3%, p < 0.001). A further major reduction in FSFI scores was evident on completion of one cycle of primary chemotherapy (down 46.7% from post-diagnosis scores, p < 0.003), again in all domains. Six patients (25%) ceased all sexual relations, in a significant change from baseline (p < 0.001). After one chemotherapy cycle, a further five patients ceased sexual activity, for a total of 11 (45.8%) participants – a borderline significant difference (p = 0.063).ConclusionThe present study shows that female sexual function as assessed by the FSFI declines significantly at two distinct points in time: upon diagnosis of breast cancer and after administration of systemic chemotherapy.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Cavalheiro et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012