Women With CRC Need Greater Support for Sexual Adverse Effects

Investigators found that colorectal cancer (CRC) creates an underrecognized burden on sexual health outcomes among women diagnosed CRC with across the lifespan, investigators recently reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Using administrative health data from British Columbia for the years 1985 to 2017, the researchers assessed the impact of CRC on a cohort of 25,402 women with CRC (mean age 69.0 years) and 254,020 age-matched controls (≤39 and ≥40 years). The researchers evaluated associations between CRC and 5 sexual health outcomes: dyspareunia, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), endometriosis, abnormal bleeding, and premature ovarian failure (POF).

The results of the study demonstrated that women with CRC had significantly elevated risks of dyspareunia (HR 1.67, 95% CI 1.62–1.73), PID (HR 3.42, 95% CI 3.07–3.81), and endometriosis (HR 1.95, 95% CI 1.69–2.25) compared with controls. These associations persisted among women over the age of 40. For women at or younger than 39, CRC was associated with increased risk of POF (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.40–2.19), while no significant association with endometriosis was observed. Sexual health outcomes within the CRC cohort were also associated with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, according to sensitivity analyses.

Reference:

Oveisi N, Sayre EC, Brotto LA, et al. Sexual health outcomes after colorectal cancer diagnosis in females: a population-based cohort study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2025; Jun 1:djaf120 https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djaf120