Gynecologic cancer survivors report sexual health among their highest concerns. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of sexual dysfunction (SD) in survivors of gynecologic malignancies and to evaluate the association of sexual function with race, ethnicity and treatment modality. In this study, survivors of endometrial, cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancer who presented to the gynecologic oncology practice were asked to self-administer the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) survey to evaluate their sexual function. The prevalence of SD was estimated and its association with demographic and clinical co-variates was analyzed. Of the 155 participants, the prevalence of SD was 44.5% (95%CI: 36.7–52.7). Patients were significantly more likely to report SD if they did not currently have a partner (69% vs 22% p < .01). Abstinence within six months of their cancer diagnosis was also associated with SD (72% vs 26% p < .01). Patients who self-identified as black race compared to white race were three times more likely to have SD (OR = 3.9, 95% CI 1.1–14.3). Patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy compared to those who did not among the entire cohort had an increased risk of SD (OR = 3.4, 95% CI 1.2–9.6). In our diverse population, almost half of our patients were identified to have SD. Black as compared to white race reported significantly higher sexual dysfunction. An increased risk for sexual dysfunction was observed among those women who received chemotherapy and radiation with or without surgery.PrecisSurvivorship is an important issue for women with gynecologic malignancies. This study addresses the high rates of sexual dysfunction in a racially diverse patient population.
The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship of insulin‐like growth factor 2 (IGF2) expression and survival in women with uterine carcinosarcoma (UCS). Insulin‐like growth factor 2 protein expression was determined by immunohistochemical staining of tumor tissues from 103 patients with UCS. The H‐score (product of staining intensity and percentage positive cells) was quantified for the epithelial cytoplasmic (EC), epithelial nuclear (EN), and malignant stromal compartments. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to examine the relationship of IGF2 levels with progression‐free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Adjusting for stage, race, and adjuvant therapy, PFS and OS were reduced in patients with high IGF2 (H‐score ≥ median) in the EC and EN compartments. Black race was independently associated with reduced PFS and OS in patients with early‐stage disease, and IGF2 levels in the EC were higher in black than in white patients (P = 0.02, Wilcoxon test). In a race‐stratified multivariable analysis, high IGF2 in the epithelial compartments more than doubled the risk of death in black women; HR = 2.43 (95% CI: 1.18–5.01, P = 0.02) for high IGF2 in the EC; and HR = 2.34 (95% CI: 1.25–4.39, P = 0.008) for high IGF2 in the EN. In conclusion, high tumor IGF2 expression is an independent risk factor for reduced PFS and OS in UCS. Black women have elevated tumor IGF2 compared with white women, and decreased survival associated with high IGF2. These findings identify IGF2 as a candidate biomarker for survival linked to racial disparity in women with UCS.
Cervical carcinogenesis, the second leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide, is caused by multiple types of human papillomaviruses (HPVs). To investigate a possible role for HPV in a cervical carcinoma that was HPV‐negative by PCR testing, we performed HPV DNA hybridization capture plus massively parallel sequencing. This detected a subgenomic, URR‐E6‐E7‐E1 segment of HPV70 DNA, a type not generally associated with cervical cancer, inserted in an intron of the B‐cell lymphoma/leukemia 11B (BCL11B) gene in the human genome. Long range DNA sequencing confirmed the virus and flanking BCL11B DNA structures including both insertion junctions. Global transcriptomic analysis detected multiple, alternatively spliced, HPV70‐BCL11B, fusion transcripts with fused open reading frames. The insertion and fusion transcripts were present in an intraepithelial precursor phase of tumorigenesis. These results suggest oncogenicity of HPV70, identify novel BCL11B variants with potential oncogenic implications, and underscore the advantages of thorough genomic analyses to elucidate insights into HPV‐associated tumorigenesis.
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