Acupuncture reduces hot flushes during breast cancer therapy

Acupuncture reduces hot flushes during breast cancer therapy

Acupuncture offers clinically significant benefits in managing hot flushes for patients undergoing endocrine therapy (ET) for breast cancer. An international team of researchers carried out three parallel trials in the United States, China, and South Korea and pooled their data for analysis. A total of 158 women with stage 0-III breast cancer who were receiving ET were randomised to either immediate acupuncture (IA) or delayed acupuncture control (DAC). Treatment consisted of needling at a set of core acupoints (Sanyinjiao SP-6, Quchi L.I.-11, Yintang M-HN-3, Baihui DU-20 and auricular Shenmen), with optional acupoints added according to individual patient presentation (Taichong LIV-3, Zusanli ST-36, Taixi KID-3, Daling P-7, Qihai REN-6 and auricular Heart). IA participants received 20 acupuncture sessions over 10 weeks, while DAC participants initially received usual care, later crossing over to a reduced-intensity acupuncture regimen. At week 10, IA participants showed significant improvements compared to the DAC group in endocrine symptom scores (mean change 5.1), hot flash scores (-5.3) and overall breast cancer-related quality of life (+8.0 vs -0.01). These effects varied by study site, indicating potential regional differences in response to treatment. (Acupuncture for hot flashes in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer: A pooled analysis of individual patient data from parallel randomized trials. Cancer. 2024 Sep 15;130(18):3219-3228).

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38924035/