Researchers in Europe have evidence that acupuncture treatments can help relieve hot flashes caused by Tamoxifen, a common drug used to treat breast cancer:
“Acupuncture reduced by half the hot flushes caused by tamoxifen in a small clinical trial involving 59 breast cancer patients after surgery. Relief was experienced both day and night, and the reduction in hot flushes was seen 3 months after the last acupuncture treatment.
These results were presented today at the European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC) in Berlin, Germany, by Jill Hervik, a physiotherapist and acupuncturist at the Vestfold Central Hospital, Tønsberg, Norway. She was working with Odd Mjåland, MD, PhD, from Sørlandet Hospital in Kristiansand, Norway.
Acupuncture is being used increasingly in Western countries to treat hot flushes associated with the menopause, Ms. Hervik commented, and this study shows that it “seems to provide effective relief from hot flushes, both day and night, for women taking tamoxifen after surgery for breast cancer.”
The treatment effect seems to coincide with a general improvement in well-being, as measured by the Kupperman Index, which assesses quality of life, she told a press briefing. Acupuncture is inexpensive and does not cause adverse side effects, she pointed out. “Our results suggest that acupuncture could be used more widely for treating breast cancer patients suffering from symptoms related to their anti-estrogen medication.”"
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