Vaginal dilator use to promote sexual wellbeing after radiotherapy in gynecological cancer survivors

Abstract

AbstractThis study investigated the efficacy of a vaginal dilator (VD) for the treatment of radiation-induced vaginal stenosis (VS) and the effect of a VD on sexual quality of life.Fifty three patients with endometrial or cervical cancers participated in this prospective observational study. All participants were treated with radical or adjuvant external beam radiotherapy and/or brachytherapy. They were routinely examined 4 times after radiotherapy (RT) and were also asked to complete a validated sexual function-vaginal changes questionnaire. SPSS version 20 and Minitab version 16 were used for the statistical analysis. The statistical significance was set at P < .05.The VS grading score decreased and the comfortably insertable VD size gradually increased throughout a year of VD use; all patients with initial grade 3 showed a VS of grade 2 after 12 months of VD use and 65.8% of the patients with initial grade 2 demonstrated a final VS of grade 1, while 77.8% of the participants who started with the first size of VD reached the third size after 12 months. Starting VD therapy ≤3 months after the end of RT was associated with a significant decrease in VS. A total of 60.9% of participants reported that they did not feel their vaginas were too small during intercourse after 12 months of dilation, whereas only 11.5% gave the same answer before starting dilation. Furthermore, 47.17% rated their satisfaction with their sexual life 5 out of 7 and only 3.77% gave a score of 3 after 12 months of dilation.Endometrial and cervical cancer survivors are encouraged to use VD to treat VS and for sexual rehabilitation after RT. This study recommends starting vaginal dilation no more than 3 months after treatment at least 2 to 3 times a week for 10 to 15 minutes over 12 months. However, larger, well-designed randomized clinical trials should be conducted to develop specific guidelines for VD use and efficacy in VS and sexual sexual quality of life after RT. © 2022 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.