The Sexual Impact of Cancer and Cancer Treatments in Men

This article presents an overview of the literature on the impact cancer and associated therapies have on male sexuality, interventions to maintain or improve sexual function after cancer, and identification of gaps in health care providers' knowledge of this topic. Normal sexual activity depends on a complex inter-relationship among multiple systems, including psychologic, biochemical, neurologic, and physiologic. Furthermore, there are multiple factors associated with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer that have an impact on male sexuality, including the complex psychologic and symptom burden of the disease and treatments. There are an increasing number of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions to treat erectile function; however, success rates are variable and long-term compliance is generally low. Little study has been devoted to interventions that may improve compliance, such as counseling, or that focus on aspects of male sexuality other than erectile dysfunction.