Psychosexual Morbidity in Women With Ovarian Cancer: Evaluation by Germline BRCA Gene Mutational Status

Abstract

Introduction: Up to 75% of women with ovarian cancer experience psychosexual morbidity and approximately 15−20% of women with ovarian cancer have a germline BRCA1/2 mutation (gBRCAm). However, psychosexual morbidity remains unexplored in women with gBRCAm ovarian cancer. Aim: Given their younger age, genetic diagnosis, breast cancer risk, and increased prevalence of surgicallyinduced menopause, we aim to assess whether women with gBRCAm ovarian cancer experience distinct psychosexual morbidity. Methods: Psychosexual morbidity was investigated in 2 cohorts of women with ovarian cancer: women with gBRCAm ovarian cancer vs women with gBRCA wildtype (gBRCAwt) ovarian cancer. Between August 2019 and March 2020, women with high-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary, Fallopian tube or primary peritoneum were approached in clinic or telephoned and invited to take part. Exclusion criteria included: women with alternative histology; women admitted from clinic; and women who lacked capacity to independently complete the questionnaire. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and background information were collected at a single time-point per patient. Scores below 26.55 were interpreted to suggest psychosexual dysfunction. Main Outcome Measure: Responses including total and domain FSFI scores, self-reported psychosexual problems and interest in psychosexual support were compared. Results: Of 103 women approached, 53% returned questionnaires. In this exploratory analysis, women with gBRCAm ovarian cancer were significantly younger (51−60 years vs 61−70 years, gBRCAwt, P = .010). There was a trend towards increased prevalence of surgical menopause (57% vs 27%, P = .097) and breast surgery (53% vs 22%, P = .132, gBRCAm vs gBRCAwt, respectively). Women with gBRCAm ovarian cancer scored higher in the FSFI questionnaire, particularly women under 60 years (15.1 vs 2.7, P = .070), approaching significance. Women with gBRCAm ovarian cancer expressed more interest for face-to-face services (P = .018), especially psychosexual therapy (65% vs 30%) and more often felt the service was insufficient, approaching significance (71% vs 44%, gBRCAm vs gBRCAwt, respectively, P = .076). Conclusion: Women with gBRCAm ovarian cancer are younger, express more interest for specialist psychosexual support and potentially different psychosexual problems, warranting further exploration.

Kazakh version of the beck depression inventory: Validation study in female cancer patients

“…It is more likely that female cancer patients will suffer from depression as they are more susceptible to it [ 10 ]. Studies on breast, cervical, and ovarian cancer patients showed that those patients had a high prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders [ [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] ]. Nevertheless, depression is often neglected, and the majority of cancer patients do not receive adequate treatment [ 15 ].…”