Acupuncture For Breast Cancer Patients with Tamoxifen

Tamoxifen, an antagonist of the estrogen receptor in breast tissue, may cause many of the symptoms that occur during the menopause, including hot flushes. Hormone replacement therapy has traditionally been used to alleviate symptoms for healthy women. However, it is related to an increased risk of relapse in women with oestrogen sensitive breast cancers.

Acupuncture is increasingly used in western countries to treat the problem of hot flushes in healthy post-menopausal women, so scientists are investigating whether it was effective in women with breast cancer suffering from hot flushes as a result of their anti-oestrogen medication. A physiotherapist and acupuncturist at the Vestfold Central Hospital told a news briefing that breast cancer patients who received traditional Chinese acupuncture had a 50% reduction in hot flushes, both during the day and the night, and that this effect continued after the acupuncture ceased. According to new research, acupuncture provides effective relief from hot flushes in women who are being treated with the anti-oestrogen tamoxifen following surgery for breast cancer.