Vaginal laser therapy for genitourinary syndrome of menopause – systematic review

Mensión, Eduard; Alonso, I.; Tortajada, Marta; Matas, Isabel; Gómez, Sílvia; Ribera, Laura Badenes; Anglès, Sònia; Castelo-Branco, Camil

doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2021.06.005

Cited by 29 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…50% of women from the suppository group opted for a succeeding laser therapy due to ongoing urogenital atrophy problems. This is in line with recent systematic reviews; with vaginal laser therapy showing limited efficacy for the treatment of urogenital atrophy compared to placebo treatment 13,14,26,27 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…At baseline the mean VHI was 9 (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13) in the laser groups vs. 13 (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16) in the suppository group (p=0.031), indicating vaginal atrophy in all study participants. The VHI improved significantly in both groups (p=0.001) with no differences between treatment groups (p= 0.232).…”

Section: Primary Outcomementioning

confidence: 88%

“…Pilot studies of intravaginal microablative or nonablative laser therapies with Erbium-YAG or CO2 lasers have demonstrated significant clinical improvement of urogenital atrophy and stress urinary incontinence 11,12 . Recent systematic reviews indicate that vaginal laser might be able to improve bothersome symptoms J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f of urogenital atrophy 13 while it seems that in BC survivors the efficacy is even less 14 . Others have investigated hyaluronic acid-based liquid preparation for vaginal use 6,15 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Vaginal laser therapy versus hyaluronic acid suppositories for women with symptoms of urogenital atrophy after treatment for breast cancer: A randomized controlled trial

Gold

Nicolay²,

Avian³

et al. 2023

Maturitas

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Primary Outcomementioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Vaginal laser therapy versus hyaluronic acid suppositories for women with symptoms of urogenital atrophy after treatment for breast cancer: A randomized controlled trial

Gold

Nicolay²,

Avian³

et al. 2023

Maturitas

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“…Energy-based therapies include fractional CO 2 laser or erbium YAG laser and radiofrequency devices; however, none of these approaches has received FDA approval due to safety concerns [18]. Although clinical studies have shown benefit and safety [148][149][150], recent experimental data and data from randomized controls trials question the efficacy of laser treatment [151,152].…”

Section: Laser Therapymentioning

confidence: 99%

Menopause, wellbeing and health: A care pathway from the European Menopause and Andropause Society

et al. 2022

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“…Evidence shows that some symptoms of SD improve with local treatments, especially intercourse pain and vaginal dryness. Regarding the use of vaginal oestrogens, even though they have shown to improve the sexual function more effectively than moisturizers, they have also proven to have systemic absorption [59].…”

Section: Local Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual Function in Breast Cancer Patients: A Review of the Literature

Castillo¹,

Mensión²,

Cebrecos³

et al. 2022

Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol.

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Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most prevalent cancer among females worldwide. Despite having survival rates beyond 90% in 5 years nowadays, BC has also the highest rates of lost disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) among all cancers. Sexual dysfunction (SD) is one of the most important causes of the problem, affecting between 40-80% of BC survivors. However, SD remains underdiagnosed and undertreated in the clinical practice. Therefore, this review is aimed to evaluate the assessment of SD in Breast Cancer Survivors (BCS) as well as specific causes affecting their sexual function and the potential therapeutic options for these patients. Methods: In December 2021, a search of observational studies evaluating the sexual function in BCS was performed through Ovid Medline, Embase, PubMed, Cochrane register of controlled trials (CCTR), Cochrane database of systematic reviews (CDSR), Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and Google scholar to identify potentially relevant publications. Articles that evaluated non-gynecological cancers were excluded, as well as those focusing on the sexuality of men. Results: Despite being such a prevalent entity and given the particularities of how BC affects the sexuality of patients, SD is not usually discussed in the clinical practice in BCS for various reasons, remaining therefore underdiagnosed and undertreated. SD in BC patients has a multifactorial aetiology, including among others, the effect of BC treatments (related to vaginal mucosae, fatigue, and joint pain), the psychological impact of the diagnostic itself and sociocultural influences related to the alteration of the breast. Various strategies have been suggested to treat SD in BC patients, including pharmacological, physical and psychological options. Evidence shows that vaginal moisturizers and psyco-educational therapies focusing on sexual health and couple-based ones improve sexual function; while systemic treatments and general psychological therapy have not demonstrated benefit. Regarding exercise programmes, body image perception has shown to be improved after a one-year strength training program. Conclusions: SD is a multifactorial condition that affects the quality of life of millions of BCS worldwide, severely underdiagnosed and undertreated up to date. A systematic assessment of sexual function in BCS could be useful to diagnose all cases prematurely to give adequate care and prevent its worsening. Specific treatment options for BCS are key potential investigation targets for the near future.

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Vaginal laser therapy for genitourinary syndrome of menopause – systematic review

Cited by 29 publications

References 77 publications

Vaginal laser therapy versus hyaluronic acid suppositories for women with symptoms of urogenital atrophy after treatment for breast cancer: A randomized controlled trial

Vaginal laser therapy versus hyaluronic acid suppositories for women with symptoms of urogenital atrophy after treatment for breast cancer: A randomized controlled trial

Menopause, wellbeing and health: A care pathway from the European Menopause and Andropause Society

Sexual Function in Breast Cancer Patients: A Review of the Literature

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