Evaluating Sexual Satisfaction and Quality of Life in Patients with Gynecological Cancer

INTRODUCTION: Treatments in gynecologic cancer can affect a patient's psychosexual status and quality of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sexual satisfaction levels in patients with gynecological cancer (GC). We also evaluated the relationship between sexual status of these patients with the psychological status (anxiety and depression) and quality of life.
METHODS: The data for GC patients treated with chemotherapy or in surveillance were collected by using four forms completed during face-to-face interviews. The first form consists of socio-demographic features. Other forms were Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS), European Organization for Research on Treatment of Cancer Questionnaires Quality of Life-C30 (EORTC-QLQ-C30), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scoring system.
RESULTS: In this study, 62 patients with GC were included. The mean total GRISS score was 37.54±11.71 and sexual dissatisfaction was seen in 33 patients (53%) according to GRISS cut-off score>35. Depression scores (p=0.010) and STAI-II scores (p=0.044) were significantly higher, and EORTC-QLQ-C30 function subcales (physical functioning (p= 0.004), cognitive functioning (p=0.021), emotional functioning (p=0.019)) and the global quality-of-life (p=0.022) were significantly lower in patients with high total GRISS scores (≥35) when compared with the patients with low total GRISS scores (<35).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Patients with sexual dissatisfaction have poor quality of life, and they are generally anxious and depressive. Besides the oncological treatments of the GC patients, it is necessary to make integration of sexuality rehabilitation and physiological status into their routine assessment.

Jinekolojik Kanserli Hastalarda Cinsel Doyum ve Yaþam Kalitesinin Deðerlendirilmesi

GÝRÝÞ ve AMAÇ: Jinekolojik kanser tedavileri, hastalarýn psikoseksüel durumlarýný ve yaþam kalitelerini etkileyebilir. Bu çalýþmamýzýn amacý jinekolojik kanserli (JK) hastalarda cinsel doyum durumlarýný deðerlendirmektir. Ayrýca cinsel doyum durumlarý ile birlikte psikolojik durumlarý (anksiyete ve depresyon) ve yaþam kaliteleri deðerlendirildi.
YÖNTEM ve GEREÇLER: Kemoterapi alan ve izlemdeki JK'li hastalarýnýn verileri, yüz yüze anketler yapýlarak bilgiler toplanmýþtýr. Görüþmeler sýrasýnda dört form kullanýlmýþtýr. Ýlk form sosyo-demografik özelliklerden oluþmaktadýr. Diðer formlar, Golombok-Rust Cinsel Doyum Anketini (GRISS), European Organization for Research on Treatment of Cancer Questionnaires-C30 Yaþam Kalitesi Anketini (EORTC-QoL-C30), Durumluk-Sürekli Kaygý Envanteri (STAI), Beck Depresyon Envanteri (BDI) idi.
BULGULAR: Bu çalýþmaya, JK'li 62 hasta dahil edildi. Toplam GRISS skoru 37.54±11.71 olup, 33 hastada (%53) GRISS cut-off skoru > 35'e göre cinsel tatminsizlik görülmüþtür. Toplam GRISS skoru düþük olan hastalar (<35), total GRISS skoru (≥35) olan hastalarla karþýlaþtýrýldýðýnda depresyon skorlarý (p=0.010) ve STAI-II skorlarý (p=0.044) anlamlý olarak yüksekti ve EORTC-QLQ-C30 yaþam kalitesi alt ölçekleri (fiziksel iþlevler (p=0.004), biliþsel iþlevler (p=0.021), duygusal iþlevler (p=0.019) ve global yaþam kalitesi (p=0.022) anlamlý olarak daha düþüktü.
TARTIÞMA ve SONUÇ: Cinsel olarak doyumsuz olan hastalar kötü yaþam kalitesine sahiptirler ve genellikle endiþeli ve depresiftirler. Jinekolojik hastalarýn onkolojik tedavilerinin yaný sýra, cinsel rehabilitasyon ve psikolojik duygu durumlarýnýn rutin deðerlendirmelerde entegrasyonunun saðlanmasý gerekmektedir.