Acupuncture in Treating Hot Flashes in Women With Breast Cancer

Acupuncture for the Treatment of Hot Flashes in Breast Cancer Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

RATIONALE: Acupuncture may help relieve hot flashes in women with breast cancer. It is not yet known whether acupuncture is more effective than a placebo in treating hot flashes in women with breast cancer PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying acupuncture to see how well it works compared to a placebo in treating hot flashes in women with breast cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Primary Determine whether acupuncture, compared to placebo, reduces the incidence of hot flashes in women with breast cancer. Secondary Determine the long-term effects of acupuncture on hot flashes. OUTLINE: This a randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to concurrent treatment with selective estrogen receptor modulators, gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs, or aromatase inhibitors (yes vs no), concurrent use of hot flash medication or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (yes vs no), baseline hot flash frequency (> 7 per day), and menopausal status at diagnosis (premenopausal vs postmenopausal). Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. Arm I (treatment): Patients receive 8 acupuncture treatments over 4 weeks. Arm II (control): Patients receive 8 placebo acupuncture treatments over 4 weeks. Beginning at week 7, patients are offered 8 true acupuncture treatments over 4 weeks. Patients in both arms complete a "hot flash" diary for 1 week before treatment and then periodically during and after treatment. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 80 patients will be accrued for this study.

breast cancer in situ, stage I breast cancer, stage II breast cancer, stage IIIA breast cancer, stage IIIB breast cancer, stage IV breast cancer, recurrent breast cancer, stage IIIC breast cancer, hot flashes

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Diagnosis of breast cancer (including in situ disease) Must be receiving treatment for breast cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) or its regional site (Commack) Has an average of 3 or more hot flashes a day during 1 week of baseline diary recording Hormone receptor status not specified PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Female Pre- or postmenopausal Karnofsky performance status 70-100% Ambulatory No skin infection PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: More than 3 weeks since prior and no concurrent treatment with any of the following during the 6 week evaluation period of the trial: Surgery Initiation of a new chemotherapy regimen Initiation of immunotherapy Initiation of radiotherapy Initiation or cessation of hormonal therapy More than 6 weeks since prior acupuncture treatment (6 months for acupuncture specifically for the treatment of hot flashes) No concurrent pharmacological treatment for hot flashes unless dose has been stable for 4 weeks No concurrent selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) unless dose has been stable for 4 weeks

Deng G, Vickers A, Yeung S, D'Andrea GM, Xiao H, Heerdt AS, Sugarman S, Troso-Sandoval T, Seidman AD, Hudis CA, Cassileth B. Randomized, controlled trial of acupuncture for the treatment of hot flashes in breast cancer patients. J Clin Oncol. 2007 Dec 10;25(35):5584-90. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2007.12.0774. Erratum In: J Clin Oncol. 2008 Mar 20;26(9):1572. D'Andrea, Gabriella M [added]; Xiao, Han [added]; Heerdt Alexandra S [added]; Sugarman, Stephen [added]; Troso-Sandoval, Tiffany [added]; Seidman, Andrew D [added]; Hudis, Clifford A [added].