Cancer therapy-related vaginal toxicity: its prevalence and assessment methods-a systematic review.

PURPOSE: In 2020, almost 9 million women were diagnosed with cancer worldwide. Despite advancements in cancer treatment strategies, patients still suffer from acute and long-term side effects. This systematic review aims to evaluate the most frequently reported adverse effects in the genitourinary system and compare them across cancer types, treatment modalities, and evaluation methods. METHODS: Pubmed Central, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Library were searched following the PRISMA guidelines to identify all prospective and retrospective observational cohort studies and randomized controlled trials assessing vaginal side effects of adult female cancer patients. The study quality was evaluated using The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale or the Risk of Bias 2 tool, as appropriate. RESULTS: The most prevalent population was breast cancer patients, followed by gynaecological cancer patients. Overall, the focus was on vaginal dryness, while vaginal stenosis was the primary outcome in gynaecological cancer patients. Significant discrepancies were found in the frequency and severity of the reported adverse events. Most studies in this review evaluated side effects using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). CONCLUSIONS: Genitourinary syndrome of menopause following cancer treatment is most frequently documented in breast and gynaecological cancer patients, often focussing on vaginal dryness and vaginal stenosis based on PROMs. This review provides a complete overview of the literature, but more high-quality clinical trials are necessary to draw firm conclusions on acute and chronic vaginal toxicity following cancer treatment. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: This review could help improve the current preventive and curative management options for genitourinary complications, thereby increasing the patient's QoL and sexual functioning.

Breast conserving treatment of Paget's disease.

Between 1971 and 1984, 13 patients with histologically proven Paget's disease were treated conservatively with radiotherapy only. The disease was clinically confined to the nipple or surrounding skin, without signs of an underlying tumor. With a mean follow-up of 58.6 months (ranging between 15 and 118 months), and a median follow up of 52 months, no recurrences locally or at distance were seen. Therefore in these selected cases a mastectomy could be avoided. The results with this breast conserving management suggest a place for radiotherapy in the treatment of Paget's disease limited to the nipple.