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Prevalence of pelvic floor dysfunction and sexual dysfunction in cervical cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) and female sexual dysfunction (FSD) are symptoms that affect the quality of life of patients with cervical cancer (CC) after treatment. Our purpose was to estimate the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) and fecal incontinence (FI) associated with PFD and prevalence of FSD in CC patients.

Methods

We searched PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from database inception to 31 January 2021 and selected articles assessing UI, FI and FSD in women with CC. Observational studies were included if they investigated UI, FI, and FSD.

Results

We included 14 of the 1,233 studies: 7 investigated FSD, 9 UI, and 3 FI. The results were highly heterogeneous because of the different populations and treatment methods. The prevalence of FSD, UI, and FI in CC patients after treatment was 45.0% (95% CI, 21.8–68.3%), 34.1% (95% CI, 25.5–42.7%), and 11.1% (95% CI, 4.8–17.3%). The results showed that different countries were the source of high heterogeneity of UI and FI (P<0.001).

Conclusions

In this meta-analysis, the prevalence of PFD and FSD was high. These results are important for drawing attention to PFD and its early prevention and rehabilitation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, 226000, Jiangsu, China

    Xiao Shan, Maolin Qian & Lan Wang

  2. Department of outpatient, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China

    Xiaoqin Liu

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Contributions

Xiaoqin Liu: conceptualization, methodology; Xiao Shan: screening, data curation, software, writing original draft preparation; Maolin Qian: screening, data curation; Lan Wang: investigation, writing, reviewing and editing.

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Correspondence to Xiaoqin Liu.

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Shan, X., Qian, M., Wang, L. et al. Prevalence of pelvic floor dysfunction and sexual dysfunction in cervical cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int Urogynecol J 34, 655–664 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-022-05326-y

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