(184) Female Androgen Insufficiency Syndrome After Haematologic Malignancy: Testosterone’s Association with Female Sexuality and Health-Related Quality of Life After Gonadotoxic Anticancer Treatment

Introduction Gonadotoxic chemo(radio)therapy impairs ovarian androgen synthesis, potentially leading to female sexual dysfunction (FSD). Female Androgen Insufficiency Syndrome (FAIS) includes reduced sexual arousability (SA), female sexual function (FSF), and health-related quality of life (HrQoL). However, the relationship between androgens and FSF remains inconclusive, and no clear diagnostic decision limit for FAIS or androgen-related FSD exists. Objective This study aimed to investigate the role of testosterone in SA and FAIS symptoms after anticancer treatment for Hodgkin (HL) or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Methods In this cross-sectional study, 116 female HL and NHL survivors (aged 22-83 at enrolment, 15-76 at treatment) who received treatments of varying gonadotoxicity provided passive-drool saliva and dried blood spots. Free and total testosterone, free and total androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Clinical data were collected via self-report and medical records. SA and FAIS symptoms were assessed with questionnaires. Results Increasing gonadotoxicity was associated with lower free testosterone (FT; X2(5) = 11.27, p = .046) and reduced SA (X2(5) = 16.04, p = .007). FT showed very small, non-significant associations with FAIS symptoms (r = .0-.1) and was not significantly associated with SA, either linearly (β = 0.004) or non-linearly, nor did FT predict FAIS. Conclusions These findings highlight the need to address sexuality after gonadotoxic cancer treatment but question whether reduced SA and HrQoL post-cancer treatment are foremost associated with low testosterone. Establishing a generic diagnostic decision limit for FAIS based on single saliva-based testosterone measurements remains challenging. Disclosure No