Needles could cool hot flashes after breast cancer

A number of studies have tested acupuncture to douse hot flashes in breast cancer patients, without clear success.

A new study from the University of Pennsylvania finds that electroacupuncture – in which embedded needles deliver weak electrical currents – is promising. After eight weeks of treatment, subjects in the electroacupuncture group showed the greatest improvement in a standard measure of hot flash frequency and severity

Hot flashes are a particularly difficult problem for breast cancer survivors. Not only are the searing surges of heat a common side effect of standard breast cancer treatment, but  patients are generally not supposed to take estrogen-containing medication, which is the approved (and highly effective) hot flash treatment.

The study, led by Jun J. Mao, an associate professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at Penn, enrolled 120 breast cancer survivors and assigned them to one of four groups: the anticonvulsant medication gabapentin daily, gabapentin placebo daily, electroacupuncture (twice per week for two weeks, then once weekly), or "sham" electroacupuncture, which involves no actual needle penetration or electrical current.

The results of the study, published this week in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, also suggests a placebo effect.  The group that received the "sham acupuncture" treatment  reported improvement in hot flashes, although not as much as those who got the real thing. The gabapentin pill group reported less improvement than the sham acupuncture group, and the placebo pill group placed last.

"These latest results clearly show promise for managing hot flashes experienced by breast cancer survivors through the use of acupuncture, which in previous studies has also been proven to be an effective treatment for joint pain in this patient population," Mao said in a news release.

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