Best Practice and Management of Sexual Dysfunction Following Diagnosis and Treatment of Gynecological Cancer.
- 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract
Sexual dysfunction, defined as a clinically significant and persistent disturbance in sexual desire, arousal, orgasm, or pain during sexual activity, affects up to 90% of gynecologic cancer survivors. Sexual health is a well-established component of quality of life, and its assessment should be routinely integrated into survivorship care. Treatment with surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation can result in early menopause, disruption of pelvic vasculature and nerve innovation, and alteration of pelvic anatomy that profoundly impacts sexual health. These physical consequences from treatment can compound the psychological burden that accompanies a cancer diagnosis. Here we review the evidence and provide recommendations for the evaluation and management of sexual dysfunction following the diagnosis and treatment of gynecologic cancer. We will discuss the mechanisms by which cancer-directed therapies affect sexual health, multimodal symptom-based treatment approaches, and lastly highlights awareness for continued areas of advocacy with the goal of providing all patients with comprehensive survivorship care.
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BibTeX
@article{sha2026best,
title = {{Best Practice and Management of Sexual Dysfunction Following Diagnosis and Treatment of Gynecological Cancer.}},
author = {Sha Sha and Jessica DiSilvestro and Colin Burnett and Dana D'Alessandro and Katina Robison},
journal = {International journal of women's health},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.2147/ijwh.s583630},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999826},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Best Practice and Management of Sexual Dysfunction Following Diagnosis and Treatment of Gynecological Cancer.
AU - Sha Sha
AU - Jessica DiSilvestro
AU - Colin Burnett
AU - Dana D'Alessandro
AU - Katina Robison
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
JO - International journal of women's health
DO - 10.2147/ijwh.s583630
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42999826
AB - Sexual dysfunction, defined as a clinically significant and persistent disturbance in sexual desire, arousal, orgasm, or pain during sexual activity, affects up to 90% of gynecologic cancer survivors. Sexual health is a well-established component of quality of life, and its assessment should be routinely integrated into survivorship care. Treatment with surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation can result in early menopause, disruption of pelvic vasculature and nerve innovation, and alteration of pelvic anatomy that profoundly impacts sexual health. These physical consequences from treatment can compound the psychological burden that accompanies a cancer diagnosis. Here we review the evidence and provide recommendations for the evaluation and management of sexual dysfunction following the diagnosis and treatment of gynecologic cancer. We will discuss the mechanisms by which cancer-directed therapies affect sexual health, multimodal symptom-based treatment approaches, and lastly highlights awareness for continued areas of advocacy with the goal of providing all patients with comprehensive survivorship care.
SN - 1179-1411
ER -