Effect of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training on Urinary Incontinence in Gynecologic Cancer: A Review

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the applicability of pelvic floor muscle training to reduce urinary incontinence in gynecologic cancer patients based on positive evidences. METHODS: This narrative review was conducted by searching terms in title or abstract such as ‘pelvic floor muscle training’, ‘urinary incontinence’ and ‘gynecologic cancer’ in PubMed, Google Scholar, SCOPUS, EBSCOHost, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library and EMBASE databases which published from 2008 to 2018. RESULTS: Studies mostly investigated the prevalence of urinary incontinence in cervical, ovarian and endometrial cancer patients. Seventy percent is the highest prevalence of urinary incontinence among gynecologic survivors that has reported so far. Pelvic floor muscle exercise for more than 4 weeks resulted in improved pelvic floor muscle strength. There was also a significant difference in the questionnaire related to improvement of pelvic floor function. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that pelvic floor muscle training may help to increase PFM strength and mitigate the symptom of urinary incontinence among patients with gynecologic cancer. However, further clinical research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of the pelvic floor muscle training on urinary incontinence symptoms in gynecologic cancers.