New Hope with Hot Flashes For Breast Cancer Survivors

The last thing a breast cancer survivor needs is to deal with those pesky hot flashes and night sweats, the bane of menopausal women around the world. So, it is a relief that relief may be found by injecting a local anesthetic into the neck that will block nerves that regulate temperature offering long-term relief from hot flashes and improved sleep quality for survivors of breast cancer.

The procedure, based on a study being published in the June issue of The Lancet Oncology, involves administering a stellate-ganglion block, which numbs the star-shaped collection of nerves in the neck thought to affect both temperature and sleep control. The nerve blocker therapy decreased the average number of hot flashes experienced by breast cancer patients from approximately 80 per week to only 8. Hot flashes that were very severe were almost totally eliminated. In addition, a distinct decline in nighttime awakenings was also reported as dropping from almost 20 per week to less than 2 on average.

Hot flashes and sleep deprivation are common symptoms experienced by breast cancer survivors, and most notably experienced by those patients who use anti-estrogen agents such as tamoxifen. Hot flashes become so severe that more than 50 percent of these women stop taking their medication after 180 days and face the risk of their cancer recurring, according to the researchers. Until now, available treatments such as hormone therapy and herbal remedies have done little in providing much needed relief or have been linked to detrimental side effects. However, blocking the stellate cells at the base of the neck has been used to treat a range of conditions for over 60 years.

Dr. Eugene G. Lipov, from Advanced Pain Centers in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and his colleagues theorize that the blocking treatment may well offer a safe and effective alternative to the treatments currently available with few or no side effects. In addition, the research team concludes that long-term relief of symptoms has the potential to improve overall quality of life and increase compliance with anti-estrogen medications for breast cancer.

The study, funded by Dr. Lipov and co-author Jaydeep R. Joshi, M.D., included 13 female participants, all of whom were survivors of breast cancer and were experiencing severe hot flashes and night awakenings. Each participant received one targeted injection of a stellate cell blocker and during the course of the study participants were permitted to have another injection if they felt that the beneficial effects were diminishing. Of the group, five women had one block and eight women had two blocks. The symptoms of each participant were assessed one week prior to treatment followed by weekly assessments after treatment for a 12-week period.

According to Dr. Lipov, this could be how all hot flashes are treated in the future. "Fifty million older women in the United States have hot flashes, not just breast cancer survivors, but menopausal women," he said and then added that 5 million of these women have severe hot flashes. He went on to explain that, "This is a safe approach that works very quickly and can last for up to three years," and noted that the average response time is three to eight months."