New Delhi, June 24 (Reuters) – Acupuncture has the potential to significantly reduce hot flashes and other hormonal side effects of endocrine therapy in breast cancer patients, a study based on a pooled analysis of three clinical trials was published on Monday claiming.
Endocrine therapy helps block the hormone signaling that drives certain types of breast cancer. Although it is a life-saving treatment, up to 80% of women experience hot flashes and other side effects after taking it, which cause them to stop treatment and increase their risk of cancer progression and death.
To explore the potential of acupuncture, researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the US conducted a coordinated multinational project consisting of three independent randomized controlled trials in the US, China and South Korea.
The analysis, published in CANCER, included 158 women with stages 0 to III breast cancer. The women were randomized to receive acupuncture twice weekly for 10 weeks in an immediate acupuncture group (IA) and then followed for 10 weeks in either a no-acupuncture group or a delayed acupuncture control group (DAC).
DAC participants received usual treatment for 10 weeks and then switched to reduced-intensity acupuncture (once a week) for 10 weeks.
After 10 weeks, 64% of people in the IA group reported an improvement in the number and severity of their hot flashes, compared with 18% in the DAC group.
Additionally, DAC participants who received weekly acupuncture treatments experienced significant improvements in symptom scores compared to week 10. No side effects were reported by any of the participants.
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Weidon also suggested that people interested in acupuncture start with a “short trial period” and then “commit to a longer-term program” based on the results.
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