The following is a summary of “Clinical Practice Strategies to Address Sexual Health in Female Cancer Survivors,” published in the November 2023 issue of Oncology by Arring, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to provide an overview of interventions addressing key issues impacting female sexual health in cancer survivor populations, focusing on low sexual desire, vulvovaginal symptoms, negative body image, and sexual partner relationships. Additionally, it assessed the state of patient-provider communication regarding female sexual health to understand better the potential integration of sexual health into clinical practice.

A narrative review was conducted to examine recent evidence regarding interventions for sexual health in female cancer survivors.

The review revealed strong evidence supporting behavioral interventions like psychosexual counseling and psychoeducation to address sexual health concerns among female cancer survivors, including low sexual desire, body image issues, and challenges related to sexual partner relationships. Couple-based psychosexual interventions were found to be effective for partnered female survivors. However, there was a lack of proven pharmacologic treatments for sexual-related issues, except for vulvovaginal atrophy, for which nonhormonal and low-dose hormonal agents were found to be effective remedies. Laser treatment for sexual health concerns remained to be fully evaluated. Recognizing the importance of sexual partners in the context of sexual health, it was noted that discussions in the area were still relatively infrequent. Recent technology-based interventions showed promise in improving communication about sexual health.

Effective interventions were available for addressing various sexual health challenges faced by female cancer survivors. However, further high-quality research was required, particularly in developing multimodal interventions. Many effective interventions are nonpharmacologic, highlighting the need for evaluating digital delivery methods to enhance accessibility. There was an urgent need for research in cancer care delivery to translate existing effective interventions into clinical practice, including strategies to improve patient-provider communication on this topic.

Source: ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/JCO.23.00523