Drug reduces hot flashes in breast cancer patients

Gabapentin, an anti-seizure drug, can reduce hot flashes in women being treated for Breast cancer by 46 percent, according to new research published on Friday.

Women undergoing chemotherapy for Breast cancer often experience hot flashes (hot flushes). Dr. Kishan Pandya, of the University of Rochester Cancer Center in New York, and associates found that gabapentin (Neurontin; Pfizer Inc.) helped relieve the symptom.

We believe gabapentin can be added to the list of non-hormonal agents for the control of hot flashes in women with Breast cancer," Pandya's team reported in the medical journal The Lancet.

Oestrogen and progestagen can also relieve hot flashes in women suffering from Breast cancer but the hormone replacement treatment may increase the risk of the cancer returning.

The scientists studied the impact of the drug on 420 women with Breast cancer who suffered two or more hot flashes a day. The women, who kept a diary of their hot flashes, were randomly selected to receive 300 mg or 900 mg of gabapentin a day or a placebo, a dummy drug.

After eight weeks of treatment the researchers said there was a 31-percent fall in hot flashes among the 300 mg group and a 15-percent drop among those given a placebo.

"We found a 46-percent reduction in hot flashes with gabapentin 900 mg," Pandya's group reported.

The study was designed to test the impact of the treatment for eight weeks. The scientists could not comment on long-term use of the drug. The effects of doses higher than 900 mg per day merit further study, they added.

Gabapentin, which affects chemicals and nerves in the body that cause seizures and certain types of pain, has also been shown to reduce pain and other symptoms associated with the viral disease shingles.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women. More than a million cases occur worldwide each year, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France.