Hidden reality: sexual sphere in brain tumor patients

Abstract

Most reports emphasize that tumors and their treatments affect sexual function. To date, no studies have focused on sexual functioning in patients with brain tumors. Our study's objective is to describe the sexual sphere of patients with brain tumors and examine the possible differences between patients who reported sexual dysfunctions and those who did not with respect to their psychological and functional status. We tested 46 patients with brain tumors. We used an ad hoc questionnaire to assess patients' subjective perception of their own sexual sphere. To assess patients' psychological status, we used the following questionnaires: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Psychological Distress Inventory; EORTC QLQ-C30; EORTC QLQ-BN20. Fifty-eight percent of patients reported sexual disturbance. Our data showed that a lack of or decrease in sexual desire is the most common sexual problem reported by our patients (56%). Patients with sexual problems reported higher levels of anxiety and depression and a worse self-reported quality of life (QoL) than did those who did not perceive adverse changes in their sexual sphere. In addition, we found that patients with a better performance status (KPS) reported more changes in sexual behaviors than did those who had performance difficulties. Of the patients, 15.2% received information regarding possible changes in the sexual sphere by physicians. Additionally, 10.8 of 15.2% of the patients reported having explicitly requested information from physicians. The study demonstrated a relation between QoL and sexual function. Therefore, it would be important to encourage clinicians to ask questions regarding patients' sexual issues, thus providing them with an opportunity to expose their difficulties and receive adequate support.

Sexual Dysfunction of Patients with Diffuse Low-Grade Glioma: A Qualitative Review of a Neglected Concern

“…We identified a total of three [ 10 , 24 , 25 ] studies, which address SD incidence and/or associations between SD and QoL ( Figure 1 ). Handsearching of articles revealed 60 additional articles [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ...…”

“…Using an ad hoc interview, Finocchiaro et al [ 24 ] investigated the sexual activity of 46 patients with brain tumors, including 21 LGG patients. They observed that 58% of brain tumor patients reported SD at the time of evaluation and 34% reported that the onset of disturbance only occurs after diagnosis.…”

“…As a whole, the presented studies report an incidence of SD that ranges from 44% to 63% in 124 brain tumor patients, including 62 LGG, and that appears to occur in more than 50% of interrogated women. It must be said that, in both studies from Finocchiaro et al [ 24 ] and Boccia et al [ 25 ], the specific incidence in LGG patients was not available.…”

Neurosurgeons’ opinions on discussing sexual health among brain tumor patients: Room for improvement?

“…A study that surveyed colorectal cancer survivors found that there is a need for the development of interventions for this patient population to manage sexual dysfunction [16]. In the field of central nerve system tumors, Finocchiaro et al is one of the few studies that focused on sexual dysfunction in patients suffering from brain tumors [7]. They surveyed patients with brain tumors and showed that the majority (84.8%) did not receive or request information regarding sexual health.…”

“…In addition to this, sexual health and functioning are seen as one of the many determinants of QoL. Brain tumor patients that reported more sexual problems also reported more anxiety and were more likely to have an impaired self-reported QoL [7,8]. Following brain tumor onset, patients develop symptoms such as disorder of sexual desire, disorders of orgasm, arousal disorders and in general more anxiety and depression [7,8].…”