Women with a history of pelvic radiotherapy due to gynecological cancer, will receive laser therapy for the management of genitourinary syndrome of menopause.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
112
5 laser therapies intravaginally administered will be applied at monthly intervals.
Urogynecological Unit of Alexandra Hospital
Athens, Greece
RECRUITING10-centimeter Visual Analogue Scale assessing intensity of dyspareunia and dryness
It is a straight line with 2 endpoints "0" and "10". Zero defines "no dyspareunia at all" and "no dryness at all" , while 10 "dyspareunia as bad as it could be" and "dryness as bad as it could be". Participants will draw a line at or between the 2 end points. The distance between zero and drawn line will define the intensity of dyspareunia and dryness
Time frame: Change from baseline at 1 month post-treatment
3 days voiding diary
Assesses frequency of urination, amount of urine, presence of urgency and/or urinary incontinence and amount of fluid intake
Time frame: Change from baseline at 1 month post-treatment
Day-to Day Impact of vaginal aging questionnaire (DIVA)
It includes 4 domains: activities of daily living (5 items), sexual functioning (5 items), emotional well-being (4 items), self-concept and body image (5-items). Each item of each domain could receive values from 0 to 4. Mean scores are calculated on each of the domain scales. Higher scores indicate greater symptom impact
Time frame: Change from baseline at 1 month post-treatment
The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life questionnaire (QLQ) cervical cancer module (CX24)
It includes 4 functional scales (body image, sexual activity, sexual enjoyment, sexual/vaginal functioning) with 9 items and 5 symptoms scales (symptoms experience, lymphedema, peripheral neuropathy, menopausal symptoms and sexual worry) with 15 items. Each item range from 1 to 4. Higher scores in sexual activity and sexual enjoyment indicate better functioning, while higher scores in all other domains indicate higher impact of cervical cancer
Time frame: Change from baseline Quality of Life questionnaire (QLQ) cervical cancer module (CX24) at 1-month post-treatment
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Patients Global Impression of Improvement
It is a single item questionnaire assessing the impression of participants following the intervention
Time frame: At 1-month post-treatment
International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form/Female Lower Urinary tract Symptoms (ICIQ-FLUTS)
It is a 12-items questionnaire evaluating nocturia, urgency, bladder pain, frequency, hesitancy, straining, intermittency, urinary incontinence (urge, stress and unexplained), frequency of urinary incontinence and nocturnal enuresis. Filling, voiding and incontinence symptoms subscales range from 0 to 15, 0 to 12 and 0 to 20, respectively.
Time frame: Change from baseline International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form/Female Lower Urinary tract Symptoms (ICIQ-FLUTS) at 1-month post-treatment
King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ)
It has 3 sections: 1) general health and overall health related to urinary symptoms with 2 questions, 2) incontinence impact, role limitations, physical limitations, social limitations, personal limitations, emotions, sleep and energy, and severity coping measures with 19 questions and 3) bother or impact of urinary symptoms with 11 questions. Scores of each domain of the 2 sections range from 0 to 100. Scores of the third section range from 0 to 3. Higher scores indicate higher impact of urinary incontinence.
Time frame: Change from baseline King's Health Questionnaire at 1-month post-treatment
Female Sexual Function Index
It includes 6 domains assessing sexual functioning (desire, arousal, orgasm, lubrication, satisfaction and pain). Total score is calculated by summing scores of the 5 domains multiplied by certain factors with a minimum value of 2 and maximum 36
Time frame: Change from baseline Female Sexual Function Index at 1-month post-treatment
Vaginal Maturation Value
It is calculated by defining the percentage of superficial, intermediate and parabasal epithelial cells on the vaginal pap smear, following the formula (1x%superficial)+(0.5x%intermediate)+(0x%parabasal). It may receive values from 0 to 100%.It is considered to be an indicator of the estrogenic stimulation, whereas values of 0-49%, 50-64% and 65-100% indicate absent/low, moderate and high estrogenic effect on the vaginal epithelium, respectively.
Time frame: Change from baseline Vaginal Maturation Value at 1-month post-treatment
Vaginal Health Index Score
It evaluates vaginal elasticity, fluid volume, ph of vaginal fluid, epithelial integrity and moisture. Each one of these may receive scores from 1 to 5. Total score is calculated by summing the 5 scores ranging from 5 to 25. Higher scores indicate better vaginal status.
Time frame: Change from baseline Vaginal Health Index Score at 1-month post-treatment
Partner Performance Questionnaire
It evaluates aspects of sexual satisfaction of cancer survivors partners
Time frame: Change from baseline Partner Performance Questionnaire at 1-month post-treatment