Introduction: Chemotherapy and endocrine treatment in young breast cancer patients are frequently associated with abrupt menopause. Little is known about the long-term prevalence of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in these patients.
Aims: To examine the effects of adjuvant endocrine therapy on sexual desire in premenopausal patients with breast cancer and past chemotherapy.
Methods: A controlled, cross-sectional study enrolled 47 women with breast cancer or benign breast disease at a tertiary care center. A standardized questionnaire (Sexual Interest and Desire Inventory-Female; SIDI-F) on HSDD was utilized. Serum concentrations for estradiol were measured by a specific assay.
Main outcome measures: The SIDI-F interview was applied in 35 women with breast cancer (mean age: 42.3 years) with eventual adjuvant endocrine therapy, 2-8 years after chemotherapy, and 13 women with benign breast tumors (mean age: 39.8 years), 2-5 years after diagnosis.
Results: Mean SIDI-F scores were similar in the breast cancer group (32.9) and the benign breast disease group (34.0). Subgroup analysis revealed no statistical differences in the mean SIDI-F scores with respect to the actual endocrine therapy. However, in breast cancer patients with menopause induced by chemotherapy or gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, the SIDI-F scores were significantly lower (30.7) compared to breast cancer patients with menorrhea (40.4). In breast cancer patients, amenorrhea was associated with significantly lower estradiol levels compared to menorrhea (24 pg/mL vs. 91 pg/mL; P = 0.02).
Conclusions: Cancer treatment that leads to long-term ovarian failure in breast cancer patients has a negative impact on sexual desire. Patients with menopause induced by chemotherapy or GnRH agonists show significantly reduced sexual desire as compared to menstruating patients with past chemotherapy.
© 2011 International Society for Sexual Medicine.