Rehabilitation effect on psycho-emotional well-being in women with surgically treated vulvar cancer: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

Introduction. Surgical treatment of vulvar cancer (VC) entails mental and somatic disturbances due to pain, body image changes, and sexual dysfunction, which are closely associated with impaired social functioning and reduced overall quality of life. However, the results evaluating the impact of rehabilitation programmes on various components of quality of life in these patients remain limited. Aim. to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs in relation to the psycho-emotional sphere during 36 months following surgical treatment of early-stage VC. Materials and methods. The randomized controlled study included female patients with VC, divided into two parallel groups of those who received a personalized program of comprehensive rehabilitation (VC-1) and rehabilitation according to the general principles regulated in the national clinical guidelines (VC-2). 36 patients each were randomly assigned to VC-1 and VC-2 groups. The control group included 80 women without female cancer. The VC-2 group was recommended physical activity, psychological support, and anti-edema therapy for lymphostasis. The personalized rehabilitation program in the VC-1 group additionally included lifestyle modification, cognitive-behavioral therapy, intimate hygiene training, magnesium, vitamin B6 and folic acid supplementation, correction of sexual disorders, phytotherapy and physiotherapy from the 3rd month, and climatotherapy and landscape therapy from the 6th month. The “Well-being, Activity, Mood” (WAM) questionnaire was administered at the preoperative visit, 1 week, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months after surgery. Scores were presented as Me [Q25; Q75], differences were considered significant at p 0.05. Results. In the control group, scores on all WAM domains were within normal values throughout the study. In the 1st week after the surgery, well-being and activity decreased to unfavorable values in both VC-1 and VC-2 groups. Mood, however, showed significant positive dynamics compared to baseline. Subsequently, the improvement in the WAM domains was significantly faster and more pronounced in the VC-1 group than in the VC-2 group, reaching the range of favorable values by the 12th month, but not reaching the control group. Conclusion. The personalized comprehensive rehabilitation program showed efficacy on well-being, activity and mood on the WAM questionnaire compared to basic rehabilitation. However, rehabilitation measures should be continued one year after surgery.

Keywords

• vulvar cancer
• rehabilitation
• well-being
• activity
• mood