USA Today — Hypnosis, acupuncture may cool hot flashes in breast cancer patients — By Liz Szabo — (Wednesday, September 24, 2008) — Two new studies suggest that alternative therapies such as hypnosis and acupuncture may provide a safe way to relieve hot flashes caused by breast cancer therapy. More than 70% of breast cancer patients taking hormonal therapies have hot flashes, as do nearly 80% of those getting chemotherapy, according to the hypnosis study, published online Monday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Hot flashes can be extremely disruptive, causing anxiety, depression, loss of sleep and a diminished quality of life, the study says. Some breast cancer patients even discontinue their medications because of these symptoms, says Vered Stearns of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, co-author of the hypnosis study. Some breast cancer patients dislike taking antidepressants, which can diminish libido and cause insomnia, dizziness and nausea, says Walker. Many cancer patients are interested in alternative therapies, however, especially ones that don't involve taking more drugs, Stearns says. •In the hypnosis study, involving 51 women, Stearns randomly assigned women to receive five weekly hypnosis sessions or no treatment. By the end of treatment, women getting hypnosis recorded 68% fewer hot flashes in their study diaries, as well as improvements in anxiety, depression and sleep. Hot flashes also caused fewer disturbances in their daily lives. Women who got no treatment didn't improve. Stearns notes that her study doesn't show whether hypnosis will help women long-term. And it's possible that hypnosis could have a partial "placebo effect," in which patients feel better partly because they believe a treatment is working. Other studies of hot flashes, for example, have shown that placebos may decrease hot flashes by 20% to 30%, the study says. Because women in her study improved so much, however, Stearns says that hypnosis probably played a big role. •In Walker's 12-week study of 47 patients, half were randomly assigned to have acupuncture and half to take a common antidepressant, Effexor, also sold as venlafaxine. All of the women were taking tamoxifen or Arimidex. Some were still undergoing radiation treatments. Patients in both groups, who were asked to keep diaries of their symptoms, reported 50% to 75% fewer hot flashes after treatment, Walker says. Patients receiving acupuncture reported no side effects. But many patients reported benefits, such as an improved sense of well-being and energy. Some reported a higher sex drive. Patients taking the antidepressant didn't experience such benefits, she says. Although the acupuncture study is small, Walker says the therapy could be a promising treatment with low risks. And Stearns notes that both studies used a very reliable study design, which should encourage researchers to try to duplicate their findings with larger trials. Stearns says it's important for scientists to test alternative therapies as rigorously as they test conventional treatments and drugs. But Stearns recognizes that alternative treatments aren't available to everyone.
Patients must have the time to go to a hypnosis or acupuncture session once or twice a week, although Stearns says many hypnosis patients eventually learn how to relax on their own, without the help of a therapist. Many insurance plans don't cover acupuncture, which costs about $100 a session, Walker says. Effexor costs about $100 a month, based on a 3-month prescription, at drugstore.com. _______________________________________________________________________