Does acupuncture help with hot flashes in women with breast cancer?

Patients with breast cancer have more severe hot flashes and menopausal symptoms than other women. Hormone replacement therapy cannot be used in breast cancer patients and other treatment options are limited.

Recommended self-care includes increasing intake of fruit and vegetables, reducing caffeine and alcohol intake, and taking more exercise, though there are few studies examining the effectiveness of these options.

Acupuncture is frequently used by breast cancer patients as a complementary therapy, and there is some evidence that it helps with hot flashes. Whether self-care and acupuncture together are effective in managing hot flashes in women with breast cancer is unclear.

This study investigated the effectiveness of self-care plus acupuncture versus self-care alone for the management of hot flashes in women with breast cancer.  A total of 190 women with breast cancer were assigned to one of two groups: self-care with acupuncture (85 women), and self-care alone (105 women). The study lasted for 12 weeks. Those in the self-care plus acupuncture group received 10 traditional acupuncture treatments. There were no differences between groups in the self-care activities except for physical exercise, which was less frequent in the acupuncture group. Patients were followed for up to 6 months.

At the end of the treatment, the self-care with acupuncture group had significantly fewer and less severe hot flashes, less menopausal symptoms, and a better quality of life compared to the self-care only group. They were more satisfied with the treatment than the self-care only group. The effects were evident after 6 months. 

The study concluded that self-care that includes acupuncture is effective in managing hot flashes and improving quality of life in women with breast cancer. 

The size of the effect could not be estimated.