Abstract
Sexual dysfunction after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) is a common long-term complication. We conducted a European multicenter cross-sectional study of adult allo-HCT recipients who had survived >2 years and their partners to investigate sexual functioning after HCT and to evaluate whether discussion about sexual functioning between the transplant team and the survivor and partner was perceived to have taken place. In total, 136 survivors (77 males, 59 females) and 81 partners (34 males, 47 females) participated. Median age was 56 and 54 years in male and female survivors, respectively. Forty-seven percent of male and 65% of female survivors and 57% of male and 59% of female partners reported clinically relevant sexual problems. Sixty-two percent of survivors and 79% of partners reported that sexual functioning had not been discussed with them during transplant. Standardized sexual functioning scores were correlated with self-reported health status in survivors (rho = 0.24, p = 0.009). The high prevalence of sexual dysfunction warrants additional studies focusing on the impact of changes in sexuality for patients as well as their partners. Future studies should also investigate which methods that are effective in preventing or treating sexual problems after allo-HCT.
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Data availability
Data are available upon request from the corresponding author.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Frank Wissing, partner of Andrea Linke, for valuable input to the interpretation and description of the results; the EBMT Patient Advocacy Committee and the EBMT Patient Engagement Taskforce for their collaboration; and the EBMT Nurses Group, the EBMT Transplant Complications Working Party and the EBMT Trainee Committee for their support of the study. This study was funded by the EBMT Nurses Group.
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CE was responsible for designing and setting up the study, collecting and interpreting data, and writing the manuscript. LKG was responsible for interpreting data and writing the first draft of the manuscript. JMo was responsible for analyzing and interpreting data and writing the manuscript. PB was responsible for collecting and linking data. DMG, JS and SL were responsible for designing and setting up the study and reviewing the manuscript. MK, PT, SB, DD, SS, LW and AK were responsible for collecting and interpreting data and reviewing the manuscript. ZP, HS and JMu were responsible for supervising the study, interpreting data and writing the manuscript.
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AL reports having received personal fees from Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. HS reports having received personal fees from Incyte, Janssen, Novartis, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Takeda, and from the Belgian Hematological Society (BHS), as well as research grants from Novartis and the BH, paid to her institution. She has also received non-financial support from Incyte, Novartis, Gilead, the EBMT (European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation), and the CIBMTR (Center for International Bone Marrow Transplantation Research). JMu reports honorarium from Therakos, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Janssen and Gilead/Kite. None of these potential conflicts of interest are relevant to this project. The rest of the authors declare no competing interests.
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Gjærde, L.K., Eeltink, C., Stringer, J. et al. Sexual function of adult long-term survivors and their partners after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in Europe (S-FAST): a study from the Transplant Complications Working Party and Nurses Group of the EBMT. Bone Marrow Transplant 58, 195–202 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-022-01869-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-022-01869-2