Lower Gastrointestinal Cancer and Sexual Function

Lower gastrointestinal cancer includes lesions between the colon and the anal canal. The most frequent lesions are colorectal cancer (CRC) and one third of them are localized in the rectum. There have been many advances in treating these tumors in the last decades and this has led to an important increase in survival rate. In consequence, the relevance of features that could have an influence in the improvement in quality of life have become more significant. Many factors can influence sexual function in patients that had survived CRC, as age, gender, stage of the lesion, need of radiotherapy, sexual function prior to the diagnosis or type of surgery. The clinical presentation varies according to gender and management starts by arising the possibility of SD as a prevalent concern among this group of patients in order to be addressed by treating physicians so that a proper approach could be made. When sexual dysfunction is identified, patients should be managed with a multidisciplinary team including a psycho-oncologist and referred to the appropriate specialist according to findings.