Sleep plays a pivotal role in maintaining homeostasis and one of a few foremost determinants of Quality of Life. Quality of life is a well-studied topic in oncology and various measures are taken to improve quality of life in this setting, in order to achieve therapeutic outcome and compliance in general in cancer patients. Sleep disturbances and disruption in circadian rhythm is among a few common presenting complaints of patients with malignancy and affects between 30% to 75% of newly diagnosed or recently treated cancer patients,1 which are reported as double that of the general population, paving the way for decreased compliance and inefficacy of therapy and pose as a detriment to general well-being, and quality of life. It is evident that mood disorders and sleep disturbances are more prevalent in females (1.3 to 1.8 times more than men),2 one may theorize that the prevalence of sleep disturbance in gynaecologic malignancies is greater than that of general population. Sleep disturbances in gynaecologic cancer patients often include difficulty in initiation of sleep, frequent awakening, difficulty in staying asleep, and restless leg syndrome. Systematic research on various sleeps disorders and their therapeutic approach in gynaecologic cancers in general is lacking. This article aims at elucidating and giving overview of sleep pattern changes in gynaecologic malignancies and therapeutic approaches to foster better sleep in this subset of population. This article also emphasizes the need to envisage the treatment strategies targeting cytokines and cortisol in improvement of sleep parameters in gynaecologic malignancies.
Sleep disturbance, distress, and quality of life in ovarian cancer patients during the first year after diagnosis
