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. 2018 Apr;29(4):459-476.
doi: 10.1007/s00192-017-3467-4. Epub 2017 Sep 19.

Pelvic floor disorders in women with gynecologic malignancies: a systematic review

Aparna S Ramaseshan  1 , Jessica Felton  2 , Dana Roque  3 , Gautam Rao  3 , Andrea G Shipper  4 , Tatiana V D Sanses  3
Affiliations

Pelvic floor disorders in women with gynecologic malignancies: a systematic review

Aparna S Ramaseshan et al. Int Urogynecol J. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis: Pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) negatively affect quality of life in the general population, and their prevalence in gynecologic cancer survivors has not been systematically described. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of PFDs in cancer survivors. We hypothesized that the prevalence of PFDs in the gynecologic cancer population would be higher than in the general female population.

Methods: We searched PubMed (1809 to present), EMBASE (1974 to present), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) through May 2017. The search combined subject headings, title, and abstract words for gynecologic cancer, PFDs, and prevalence. Any studies evaluating the prevalence of PFDs in gynecologic malignancies were included.

Results: A total of 550 articles met the designated search criteria and 31 articles were included in this review. In cervical cancer survivors, before treatment the prevalences of stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) and fecal incontinence (FI) were 24-29%, 8-18% and 6%, respectively, and after treatment the prevalences of SUI, UUI, urinary retention, FI, fecal urge, dyspareunia and vaginal dryness were 4-76%, 4-59%, 0.4-39%, 2-34%, 3-49%, 12-58% and 15-47%, respectively. In uterine cancer survivors, before treatment the prevalences of SUI, UUI and FI were 29-36%, 15-25% and 3%, respectively, and after treatment the prevalences of urinary incontinence (UI) and dyspareunia were 2-44% and 7-39%, respectively. In vulvar cancer survivors, after treatment the prevalences of UI, SUI and FI were 4-32%, 6-20% and 1-20%, respectively. In ovarian cancer survivors, the prevalences of SUI, UUI, prolapse and sexual dysfunction were 32-42%, 15-39%, 17% and 62-75%, respectively.

Conclusions: PFDs are prevalent in gynecologic cancer survivors and this is an important area of clinical concern and future research.

Keywords: Gynecologic cancer; Pelvic floor disorders; Prevalence; Survivor.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest Dr. Sanses was supported by Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) K12 HD43489 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the time of the study, and by the National Institute on Aging (1R03AG053281–01).

The other authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of the study selection process *: three included manuscript reported data on more than one malignancy
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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