Acupuncture provides long-lasting relief to hot flashes, heart
palpitations and anxiety due to side effects of the hormone given to
counteract testosterone, the hormone that induces prostate cancer,
according to a study published in the April issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, an official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
The main treatments for men with metastatic prostate
cancer are either surgery or hormone therapy to significantly reduce the
level of testosterone in the body. Eliminating testosterone has been
proven to keep the cancer in check by starving the cancer of hormones it
needs to grow and spread. However, about half of the time, this therapy
also causes very uncomfortable hot flashes similar to those women
experience during menopause. The main way to combat hot flashes is to
take antidepressants, but these drugs can cause side effects of their
own, including nausea, dry mouth, sleeplessness, altered appetite and
sexual changes.
In a prospective study conducted in the department
of radiation oncology and the acupuncture section of New York Methodist
Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, both
in New York, researchers evaluated 14 men who were experiencing hot
flashes due to hormone therapy for prostate cancer. Upon enrolling in
the study, the men were given a hot flash score (HFS) to evaluate their
discomfort from daily hot flashes. The mean initial HFS was 28.3.
Participants
then received acupuncture twice a week for 30 minutes at a time for
four weeks. Two weeks after receiving acupuncture, their HFS was
measured again and had dropped more than half to 10.3. At six weeks
post-treatment, their HFS was 7.5. After eight months, the men were
evaluated again and their mean HFS was 7.
"Our study shows that
physicians and patients have an additional treatment for something that
affects many men undergoing prostate cancer treatment and actually has
long-term benefits, as opposed to more side effects," Hani Ashamalla,
MD, lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at New York
Methodist Hospital, said. "We are now designing a randomized clinical
trial to further evaluate acupuncture after prostate cancer treatment. I
encourage men suffering this symptom to talk to their doctors about
enrolling."
