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Sexual dysfunction is prevalent in female lymphoma survivors after autologous stem-cell transplantation and is associated with younger age, chronic fatigue, and mental distress

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 56, pages 968–970 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Sexual function in female lymphoma survivors after high-dose therapy with autologous stem-cell transplantation (auto-SCT) is largely unstudied. Female lymphoma survivors treated with auto-SCT in Norway 1987–2008 were eligible participants (n = 157). A multi-item questionnaire including a complete Sexual Activity Questionnaire was returned by 70% (n = 110) of the women. A comparison to age-matched normative controls was performed. Sexual inactivity was equal among survivors and controls. The survivors reported personal issues more frequent as reason for inactivity compared with controls (44% vs. 28%, p = 0.04). The sexually active survivors reported more sexual discomfort, greater reduction in frequency of sexual activity, and more sex-related tiredness compared with controls (p value and effect size [95% confidence interval]; p ≤ 0.001, 0.70 [0.44, 0.97], p = 0.03, −0.29 [−0.55, −0.03] and p ≤ 0.001, 0.64 [0.37, 0.90], respectively). Sexual activity was related to older age (odds ratio (OR) 0.58 [0.43, 0.82] per 10 years), being in a relationship (OR 28.6 [6.9, 118.9]) and hormonal replacement therapy (OR 6.0 [1.49, 24.2]). Tiredness in relation to sexual activity was associated with younger age, chronic fatigue and mental distress. Sexual inactivity due to personal issues was more frequent and among those sexually active, a higher rate of sexual dysfunction exists among auto-SCT survivors compared with controls. Hence, sexual function should be addressed at regular timepoints during the cancer trajectory.

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Acknowledgements

First, we would like to thank the female survivors who participated in this study and Hanne Kittilsen for valuable insight and comments as user-participant. We thank Trine Bjøro for sharing her knowledge and research experience regarding ovarian function. We thank Professor Lesley Fallowfield, patent holder of the Sexual Activity Questionnaire, for the opportunity to use the instrument in our study. Finally, we thank the Norwegian ExtraFoundation for Health and Rehabilitation who made this study possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Hanne Skjerven Bersvendsen & Hege Sagstuen Haugnes

  2. Department of Clinical Medicine, UiT-the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Hanne Skjerven Bersvendsen & Hege Sagstuen Haugnes

  3. National Advisory Unit for Late Effects After Cancer Treatment, Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Radiumhospitalet, Oslo, Norway

    Alv A. Dahl, Knut Bjøro Smeland & Cecilie Essholt Kiserud

  4. Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Alv A. Dahl

  5. Department of Oncology, St. Olav’s Hospital, Trondheim, Norway

    Unn-Merete Fagerli

  6. Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Unn-Merete Fagerli

  7. Department of Oncology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway

    Øystein Fluge

  8. Department of Oncology, Oslo University Hospital, Radiumhospitalet, Oslo, Norway

    Harald Holte

  9. K.G. Jebsen-Centre for B cell malignancies, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Harald Holte

  10. Department of Community Medicine, UIT- The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Tom Wilsgaard

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  1. Hanne Skjerven Bersvendsen
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  5. Øystein Fluge
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  9. Cecilie Essholt Kiserud
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hanne Skjerven Bersvendsen.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of Regional Ethics Committee South East (no. #2011/1353) who approved the study, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Bersvendsen, H.S., Haugnes, H.S., Dahl, A.A. et al. Sexual dysfunction is prevalent in female lymphoma survivors after autologous stem-cell transplantation and is associated with younger age, chronic fatigue, and mental distress. Bone Marrow Transplant 56, 968–970 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-020-01098-5

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