The Effect of Adjuvant Chemotherapy on Sexual Satisfaction and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients and Their Partners Izmir Oncology Group (IZOG) Study

INTRODUCTION: There is growing evidence suggesting that women treated for breast cancer with surgery and chemotherapy commonly experience disturbances in sexual functioning. As part of the present study, we aimed to investigate quality of life (QoL) and sexual satisfaction levels, as well as the effects of chemotherapy upon the sexual satisfaction of Turkish breast cancer patients and their partners.
METHODS: We collected data were from thirty-two breast cancer patients and their partners. We used three forms: one is covering information about socio-demographic characteristics of the patients, EORTC-QoL-C30 and the Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS).
RESULTS: A comparison of the pre-treatment and post-treatment sexual satisfaction of breast cancer patients with respect to GRISS showed statistically significant subscores of frequency, avoidance, touch and anorgasmia (p: <0.0001, <0.0001, 0.007 and 0.001 respectively). In contrast, only the frequency parameter was significantly high in their partners (p: 0.001). Also, we found statistically significant differences in our patients in terms of emotional functioning, social functioning, and cognitive functioning (p: 0.023, 0.022 and 0.035, respectively).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We found that chemotherapy reduced sexual satisfaction rates without lowering overall quality of life scores. While assessing patients’ quality of life, one should pay sufficient attention to the possibility that their sexual satisfaction may get worse. It is of crucial importance for all the oncology professionals to encourage open dialogue with their patients in addition to making appropriate referrals; and they should be monitored before, during, and after anticancer treatment to minimize the deleterious effects of chemotherapy and improve their quality of life.

Meme Kanserli Hastalarda ve Eþlerinde Adjuvan Kemoterapinin Seksüel Doyum ve Yaþama Kalitesi Üzerine Olan Etkileri-Ýzmir Onkloji Grubu (ÝZOG) Çalýþmasý

GÝRÝÞ ve AMAÇ: Meme kanseri tedavisi gören kadýnlarýn ameliyat ve kemoterapi ile sýklýkla cinsel iþlev bozukluklarý yaþadýðýný gösteren kanýtlar artmaktadýr. Çalýþmamýzýn bir parçasý olarak, yaþam kalitesini (YK) ve cinsel doyum düzeylerini ve ayrýca kemoterapinin Türk meme kanseri hastalarýnýn ve partnerlerinin cinsel doyum üzerindeki etkilerini araþtýrmayý amaçladýk
YÖNTEM ve GEREÇLER: Otuz iki meme kanseri hastasýndan ve partnerlerinden elde edilen verileri topladýk. Üç form kullandýk: biri hastalarýn sosyodemografik özellikleri, EORTC-QoL-C30 ve Cinsel Tatmini Golombok-Rust Envanteri (GRISS) hakkýnda bilgi içeriyor
BULGULAR: Meme kanseri hastalarýnýn GRISS'e göre tedavi öncesi ve tedavi sonrasý cinsel memnuniyetlerinin karþýlaþtýrýldýðýnda, sýklýk, kaçýnma, dokunma ve anorgazmi için istatistiksel olarak anlamlý alt ölçekler osaptanmýþtýr (sýrasýyla p <0.0001, <0.0001, 0.007 ve 0.001). Buna karþýlýk, sadece sýklýk parametreleri partnerlerinde belirgin olarak yüksekti (p: 0.001). Ayrýca, duygusal iþlevsellik, sosyal iþlevsellik ve biliþsel iþlevsellik açýsýndan hastalarýmýzda istatistiksel olarak anlamlý farklýlýklar bulduk (sýrasýyla p = 0.023, 0.022 ve 0.035).
TARTIÞMA ve SONUÇ: Kemoterapinin genel yaþam kalitesi puanlarýný düþürmeden cinsel doyum oranlarýný düþürdüðünü bulduk. Hastalarýn yaþam kalitesini deðerlendirirken, cinsel doyumlarýnýn kötüleþebileceði ihtimaline dikkat edilmelidir. Tüm onkoloji uzmanlarý, uygun tavsiyeleri yapmanýn yaný sýra hastalarýyla açýk diyaloðu teþvik etmeleri için çok önemlidir; kemoterapinin zararlý etkilerini en aza indirgemek ve yaþam kalitesini iyileþtirmek için antikanser tedavisi öncesi, sýrasýnda ve sonrasýnda izlenmelidirler.