Prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women with cervical cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cervical cancer (CC) is a common malignant gynaecological tumour. However, as survival rates have improved, increasing attention has focused on the quality of the survivors' sex lives. We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the prevalence and severity of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) in women with CC. We searched the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wang Fang databases, and extracted data from all studies published up to December 2020 that evaluated sexual dysfunction in patients with CC with the female sexual function index (FSFI). Studies were screened according to specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the qualities of the included studies were evaluated. Sixteen studies with a total of 2009 women with CC, including 1306 women with FSD, were included in the meta-analysis. Among patients with CC, the incidence of FSD was 80% (95% confidence interval (95%CI) 0.74-0.87) and the average FSFI score was 20.25 (95%CI 18.96-21.53). These results revealed a high prevalence of FSD and poor sexual function among women with CC, suggesting a need to assess sexual function regularly in these women with CC to improve early recognition of FSD and thereby allow appropriate interventions to enhance the sex life of affected patients.