Prevalence of sexual dysfunction after breast cancer compared to controls, a study from CONSTANCES cohort

Menée en France auprès de 2 680 patientes ayant survécu à un cancer du sein et auprès de témoins, cette étude de cohorte analyse la présence de dysfonctionnements sexuels en lien avec la maladie et les traitements anticancéreux

Résumé en anglais

Purpose: Sexuality, a substantial factor in quality of life, may be altered after breast cancer (BC) treatments as they intimately afflict femininity. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women with a history of BC and to compare it with women without a BC history.

Methods: The French general epidemiological cohort CONSTANCES includes more than 200,000 adults. All inclusion questionnaires from CONSTANCES non-virgin adult female participants were analyzed. Women reporting a history of BC were compared to controls in univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis was performed to highlight any demographic risk factor for sexual dysfunction.

Results: Among the 2,680 participants who had a history of BC, 34% did not engage in sexual intercourse (SI) in the month preceding the completion of the questionnaire (n = 911), 34% had pain during SI (n = 901) and 30% were not satisfied with their sex life (n = 803). Sexual dysfunction was significantly more frequent in women who had a history of BC: they had less sexual interest (OR 1.79 [1.65;1.94], p < 0.001), experienced more pain during SI (OR 1.10 [1.02;1.19], p < 0.001) and were more dissatisfied with their sex life (OR 1.58 [1.47;1.71], p < 0.001). This stayed true after adjustment on multiple demographic factors such as age, menopausal status, body mass index and depression.

Conclusions: Overall, in this real-life study in a large national cohort, history of BC appeared to be a risk factor for sexual disorders.

Implications for cancer survivors: Efforts to detect sexual disorders in BC survivors and offer quality support must be pursued.