CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT06428279S&CUpdated May 29, 2024

Survey of Sexual Health in Cancer Patients

An observational study in Integrative Oncology, sponsored by Institut Rafael. Completed at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-05-29.

Sponsored by Institut Rafael · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrollment
200
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Sexual health, a vital aspect of the overall human health and a critical component of quality of life, can be negatively affected by cancer and cancer treatments. Although prevalence rates of sexual difficulties vary depending on several factors including primary diagnosis, treatment modality and methods of assessment, estimates rates are reported to range from 40% to 100%. Despite the abundant literature on sexuality and intimacy, communication about sexual health is often absent or inadequate between patients and health care providers. In this context, more research is needed to understand patients' priorities and needs for information about sexuality.

The purpose of this study is to assess the main difficulties faced by patients in their sexual life and to evaluate patient's satisfaction after having followed sessions of psychosexual therapy proposed at Rafaël Institute, France. The survey will be conducted using questionnaires developed specifically for this study. All questions will be coded through a Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Responses to each question will be analyzed with higher mean scores (>4) indicating main difficulties faced by patients in their sexual life. Patients will also express their positive or negative state of agreement regarding questions evaluating their satisfaction after following a program of psychosexual therapy. Approximately 200 patients will be invite to participated in this survey after provided oral consent.

Read the detailed description

Sexual health, a vital aspect of the overall human health can be negatively affected by cancer and cancer treatments. Sexual dysfunctions affect the quality of life of an individual since sexual health is a critical component of overall quality of life. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines sexual health as "a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; and not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity". Indeed, regular sexual activity reduces stress, regularizes sleep cycle, and regulates our mental wellbeing as a whole.

Although prevalence rates of sexual difficulties vary among cancer patients and depend on several factors including primary diagnosis, treatment modality and methods of assessment, estimates rates can range from 40% to 100%. For example, in a French national survey focusing on sexual health of patients with colorectal or breast cancer two years after diagnosis, 54% of patients (235 of 435) reported to have a decrease in sexual desire and 61% had a decrease in frequency of intercourse.

Despite these problems have been well documented in the literature and in practice guidelines, many cancer survivors have limited access to high quality information on sexual health. Indeed, communication about sexual health is often absent or inadequate between patients and the medical team. Among barriers reported by health care providers for avoiding discussing this topic are lack of time, insufficient training, absence of awareness about the subject and unavailable access to integrative medicine solutions where they could send their patients. Cultural values, religious beliefs and social norms may also have significant implications.

Recognizing patients' sexual problems can help health care providers to offer appropriate integrative non-pharmacological interventions to different group of patients. In this context, more research is needed to understand patients' priorities and needs for information about sexuality. The purpose of this study is to assess the main difficulties faced by patients in their sexual life and to evaluate patient's satisfaction after having followed sessions of psychosexual therapy proposed at Rafaël Institute, France.

02

Conditions studied

  • Integrative Oncology

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Keywords

  • Sexual health
  • Quality of life
  • Integrative oncology
03

In context

Neoplasms

9,365 studies on the registry are indexed under Neoplasms; 2,489 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 200 is close to the median of 204 across 1,683 observational studies indexed under Neoplasms.

Browse Neoplasms studies →

Lead sponsor

Institut Rafael is the lead sponsor of 6 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Eligible participants will be adults aged 18 years old or older diagnosed with cancer and undergoing non-pharmacological supportive care during or after their standards cancer treatments at Rafael Institute

Inclusion criteria

  • cancer patients
  • adults aged > 18 years old

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • \<18years old
05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrollment
200 participants (actual)
Patient registry
No

Interventions

  • BehavioralSurvey

    survey

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. patients' satisfaction with their sexual lives

    questionnaire

    Time frame: 1 month

Secondary outcomes

  1. identification of the main physiological and psychological difficulties encountered by patients in their sexual lives

    questionnaire

    Time frame: 1 month

  2. patients perceived emotions

    questionnaire

    Time frame: 1 month

  3. description of the impact of sex therapy sessions on the sexual health of the participants

    questionnaire

    Time frame: 1 month

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Institute Rafaël
    Levallois Perret, Institut Rafael 92300, France
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 29, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06428279
Lead sponsor
Institut Rafael
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 24, 2024
Start date
Apr 19, 2024
Primary completion
May 19, 2024
Completion
May 19, 2024
Last update
May 29, 2024

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in May 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Discussion

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