Abstract A62: Differences in sexual dysfunction between lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual female breast cancer survivors
Authors: Wheldon Christopher W. , Roberts Megan C. , Silver Michelle I. , Boehmer Ulrike 
Published: February 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine (1) differences in sexual dysfunction between lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual female breast cancer survivors including (2) patient-provider communication regarding sexual problems, and (3) receipt of treatment for sexual complaints.

Methods: Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation's The Health of Women (HOW) Study™ is a cohort study of approximately 40,000 women with and without breast cancer who have responded to one or more online, self-administered surveys. This study includes data from women who completed the baseline and quality-of-life surveys. Women were included if they had a previous diagnosis of breast cancer and if they self-identified as lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual (N=3,833). Sexual dysfunction was defined as “ever [having] significant problems with change in sexual interest.” We also examined whether women (1) thought that their cancer/cancer treatment was “the primary cause of [her] most significant problems with changes in sexual interest”, (2) “talked to [her] doctor about [her] problems with change in sexual interest”, and (3) “received treatment for [her] problems with change in sexual interest.” Analyses included chi-square test of independence and bivariate logistic regression. Differences were considered significant at p&lt;0.10.

Results: Distribution of sexual orientation was as follows: heterosexual (96%), lesbian (3%), and bisexual (1%). Over a third of women reported sexual dysfunction (34%); 78% of them attributed these changes in sexual interest to their breast cancer treatment. Bisexual women were most likely to report changes in sexual interest (48%) when compared to lesbian (34%) and heterosexual (34%) women. Bisexual women were 77% more likely to report changes in sexual interest compared to heterosexual women (OR=1.77; 95%CI: 0.99-3.17, p&lt;0.10); however, bisexual women were less likely than heterosexual women to talk to their doctor about this (OR=0.40; 95% CI: 0.16-0.94, p&lt;0.10). All women reported similar levels of bother from changes in sexual interest (62% reporting being bothered by changes in sexual interest “quite a bit” or “very much”). Irrespective of sexual orientation, less than 20% of women received treatment for changes in sexual interest.

Conclusion: Sexual dysfunction was a common issue identified by women breast cancer survivors, particularly among bisexual women who were also less likely to report sexual dysfunction to their provider. Overall, treatment for sexual dysfunction was low for all women, suggesting a potential gap in survivorship care more broadly. These findings suggest that experiencing problematic changes in sexual interest was more common among bisexual breast cancer survivors, who may face unique challenges in receiving needed survivorship care. Targeted interventions for these women may be warranted to increase patient-provider communication about sexual dysfunction and to improve the burden of sexual dysfunction among bisexual women.

Citation Format: Christopher W. Wheldon, Megan C. Roberts, Michelle I. Silver, Ulrike Boehmer. Differences in sexual dysfunction between lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual female breast cancer survivors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr A62.