SEXUAL LIFE QUALITY IN PATIENTS WITH CERVICAL CARCINOMA IN SITU: A CONTROL GROUP STUDY

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the fourth most prevalent cancer in women worldwide. The Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the principal risk factor for high-grade intraepithelial lesions development. Its diagnosis could affect the quality of sexual life in women. In this way, the patients relate symptoms and signs, such as dyspareunia, bleeding, and sexual satisfaction reduction. Objective: To assess and analyze the sexual life quality of patients diagnosed with high-grade intraepithelial lesions in comparison to the control group. Methods: The instrument used for data collection was the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Ten (10) patients with carcinoma in situ and seventeen (17) healthy women (control group) answered the questionnaire, whose selection and the collection were online using the Google Forms application. The FSFI assesses the degree of desire, excitation, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and dyspareunia, through the number of scores ranging from 2 to 36, the last being the best degree of sexual function. Data were statistically analyzed using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test through the GraphPad Prism version 7.0 statistical software, considering p <0.05. Results: The average age of the patients with high-grade intraepithelial lesions is 32.2 with a standard deviation of ±9.37 years, and for the control group, it was 30±8.60 years. About sexual desire (minimum score 1.2 and maximum 6), patients had an average of 3.48±0.84 and the control group of 3.39±1.10, and forward, respectively. Regarding excitation (score 0-6): patients 4.62±0.80 and control group 4.03±0.87; lubrication (score 0-6): 5.19±0.85 and 4.65±0.90; orgasm (score 0-6): 4.8±1.03 and 4.26±0.93; satisfaction (score 0.8 6): 5.16±0.88 and 4.14±1.80; and pain (score 0-6): 5.04±1.32 and 4.05±1.51. The general evaluation of the sexual quality of life scores was 28.3±2.80 for patients diagnosed with high-grade intraepithelial lesions and 24.7±8.98 for the control group. Based on this analysis, there is no statistically significant difference between the groups for the variables described. The variable pain had a tendency, with p = 0.056, to be higher in the group of patients with the high-grade intraepithelial lesion. Conclusion: The results of this study are still preliminary; however, it was possible to note that there is no statistically significant difference between the groups for the variables of sexual life quality assessed using the FSFI questionnaire and statistical analysis.