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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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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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-020-01098-5
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