258P - Assessment of sexual health in patients treated for ovarian cancer

Background

Ovarian cancer leaves a detrimental effect on sexual health due to treatment modalities, hormonal imbalance, inability to accept body image after treatment related deformity and other psychological reasons. As the proportion of ovarian cancer survivors is increasing, it is very important to address the issue of sexual health in these patients, an issue which is generally unaddressed. The aim of our study was to asses sexual health in patients treated for ovarian cancer who were disease free at the time of analysis.

Methods

This single institute prospective study was conducted from April 2017 to November 2017. During the routine follow up visit to the hospital, patients who were disease free were recruited in the study. European Organisation of Research and Treatment for Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-OV 28 questionnaire was used to assess the sexual health. The impact of various factors on quality of life (QOL) scores was analysed using one-way analysis of variance (Univariate ANOVA). A p value of < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Results

A total of 84 ovarian cancer patients were recruited. Median age at presentation was 45 years. All patients were clinically and biochemically disease free at the time of analysis. Seventy-two patients were married whereas 12 women were either unmarried or divorced or widows. Out of these 72 women, only 34 (47%) women were found to have had sex in last 3 months. A median score of 33.3 (22.2-66.6) was recorded for sexual function in QLQ-OV 28 questionnaire which was lesser than other domains of functional scale. The sexual score was significantly affected by presence of co-morbidities (p < 0.007), higher number of chemotherapy cycles (p < 0.001), fear of recurrence (p < 0.02), vaginal dryness and pain (p < 0.04).

Conclusions

Sexual health is a fundamental quality of life domain which is often compromised and underestimated in ovarian cancer patients. The present study showed that diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer has a negative impact on sexual health. As the proportion of ovarian cancer survivors continuously rising, there is a need to acknowledge and address the impact of treatment on sexual health.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.