Evaluation of Innovative Therapeutic Approaches of Vaginal and Sexual Dysfunction After Breast Cancer Treatment

Overview

Many studies have shown that locoregional treatment (surgery, radiotherapy) and systemic treatment (endocrine therapy and chemotherapy) for breast cancer (BC) may impact sexuality by causing physical and/or psychological damages. Approximately 50-75 % of BC survivors suffer from vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA). The earliest symptoms of VVA are decreased vaginal lubrication, followed by other vaginal and urinary symptoms, such as burning, itching, bleeding, leucorrhoea, dyspareunia and dysuria symptoms. Various surveys have shown that VVA symptoms lead to female sexual disorder and on their partners through sexual unsatisfactory. However, it appears that sexuality is a little discussed topic during the follow-up of BC survivors. Most of patients relate a poor satisfaction with information and counselling related to sexuality and vaginal health, which are denied by many practitioners. Patients treated for BC cannot find relief in hormonal replacement therapy (HRT), which is considered the gold standard treatment for VVA symptoms. The usual treatments for these women are topics such as ovula or gel (lubricant, hyaluronic acid (HA)…) with however, a short term effect even when these topics are applied regularly and correctly during at least 2 to 3/weeks.In the literature, there is a significant impact on VVA at one month but later data are lacking . Moreover, patients' compliance and daily application are paramount of importance for efficacy that could disappear when the treatment is stopped. No randomized controlled trial has compared this treatment to innovative strategies. In this context, it is important to establish management strategies for VVA and sexual disorder after BC. Our objective is to assess prevalence rate of VVA among breast cancer survivors after the loco regional treatment and chemotherapy, and to compare the efficacy of innovative treatments namely, new biophysical inductor (Laser CO2) and chemical bio inductor (Hyaluronic acid injections) treatments to the efficacy of standard non-hormonal topic treatment for improving the VVA and the quality of sexual life on a long-term.

An open-label multicentre controlled trial randomized in 3 parallel groups (1:1:1) to assess the one-year superiority of bio physical inductor (C02 laser, D0 and M6, group laser) compared to the standard treatment currently recommended (Mucogyne, 2 times a week for one year, control group) in the one hand, and of chemical bio inductor (Desirial, injection of 1 mL of hyaluronic acid in the first 3 cm of the vaginal walls, D0 and M6, HA injection group) compared to the control group in the other hand in BC survivors with VVA, with blinded primary endpoint assessment. The use of these innovative treatments (lasers and injections) for Vulvovaginal atrophy based on the bio induction and the regenerative medicine could improve the quality of the vaginal mucosa after breast cancer therapy and could be a new strategy for these women who cannot benefit from Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The benefits expected are the improvement of the quality of vulvo-vaginal mucosa and the improvement of the sexual quality of life of the patient.