Assessment of Radiotherapy induced female sexual morbidity in cancer cervix patients

Introduction: Radiotherapy has several long term side effects in cancer cervix patients involving rectum, urinary bladder, small intestine and bone marrow. Sexual morbidity in these patients is not the priority for treating oncologist and hence usually not discussed This study aims to evaluate the sexual morbidity in cancer cervix patients treated with radiotherapy. Material and Methods: All patients who presented in our department with a minimum of 6 month follow up between August 2023 and March 2024 after undergoing radiotherapy for cancer cervix were included in the study. These patients were assessed using EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire which is to evaluate overall quality of life and specific symptoms, including sexual health concerns. Results: There were 70 patients with a median follow up of 12months. 87.1% patients were sexually active (p=0.01). The most common post radiotherapy complications is vaginal stenosis (85.7%) followed by vaginal dryness (72.8%). The most common complaints of the patients were dyspareunia (85.7%), reduced orgasm (82.8%) and vaginal bleeding (85.7%). 58.5 % patients were distressed with their sex life in comparison to pre radiotherapy period (p value 0.04). Conclusion: Sexual dysfunction is a distressing issue among women undergoing radiotherapy for cervical cancer, with substantial impact on their quality of life. Counselling regarding sexual morbidity before treatment and consulting various interventions may alleviate the physical and psychological distress.