Age-Old Treatment Eases Hot Flashes

Sep. 23 -- Acupuncture may be just as effective as drug therapy for treating hot flashes in breast cancer patients with premature menopause, according to a study released today from the Henry Ford Health Systems.

The treatment could be a better option for women who enter early menopause because of chemotherapy and cannot be treated with an estrogen-replacement medication, said Dr. Eleanor Walter, radiation oncologist and lead author of the study.

Doctors have been prescribing the antidepressant -- sold under the name brand Effexor -- for off-label use in alleviating hot-flashes, Walter said. But oral medications are difficult for some breast cancer patients to keep down because of the nausea associated with chemotherapy, and Effexor has a long list of side effects, including constipation.

"My patients were complaining. They were sick of taking pills. Wasn't there something I could do?" she said.

In the three-year study, which included 47 women who were menopausal because of cancer therapy, half received venlafaxine, and the other half, acupuncture. For one year, the women filled out a log with the number and severity of hot flashes before, during and after the 12-week treatment.

Both groups reported fewer and weaker hot flashes and reduced depression. But the venlafaxine group reported multiple side effects; the acupuncture group reported none, Walker said. The study, funded by the Susan G. Komen Foundation, will be presented at the 50th annual American Society for Radiation and Oncology Association meeting this week in Boston.

While there is no data showing what biological or physiological changes happened during treatment, Walker said the reduction in hot flashes lasted longer in the acupuncture group than in the venlafaxine group when both groups ended treatment. It is no placebo effect, she said.

Susan Azar, a 43-year-old study participant from Northville, went from one to two hot flashes an hour to one or two per day. At first, she wasn't sure if the acupuncture treatment was working. Then she stopped.

"I thought it was my imagination. Boy, when you stop cold turkey, you know it's not your imagination," she said.

Patients should check with their insurer to find out whether it offers discounts or coverage of acupuncture.