Acupuncture Treatment of Vasomotor Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients

Overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the impact of acupuncture in preventing worsening of hot flashes and sleep disorders in paucisymptomatic premenopausal Breast Cancer (BC) patients undergoing LHRHa plus endocrine therapy. According to the published data, acupuncture is an effective and long-lasting (6 to 8 months) treatment for severe vasomotor symptoms. Treatment response can be affected by different variables, including intervention timing. The main question this study aims to answer is: Can we expect an additional benefit resulting from an early intervention (when patients are still presymptomatic/paucysintomatic) with acupuncture in preventing worsening in terms of frequency/severity of hot flashes and sleep disorders? Researchers will compare patients randomized in two arms: Arm A: intervention with acupuncture Arm B: usual care to see if acupuncture is superior to usual care in preventing worsening of hot flashes

This is a prospective randomized clinical trial of superiority of acupuncture compared to usual care for prevention/early treatment of vasomotor symptoms and sleep impairment in LHRHa induced amenorrhea. The primary endpoint will be a reduction in frequency and intensity of hot flashes in the intervention arm compared to standard care, measured by the Hot Flash Composite Score (HFCS) at 6 months following the protocol. Among the secondary outcomes, sleep quality will be measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and quality of life by the Menopause-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MenQOL) and EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-C30). A total of 90 premenopausal BC (stage I-III) patients undergoing LHRHa plus Endocrine Therapy (tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors) after surgery will be randomized 1:1 in two arms: Arm A: intervention with 10 acupuncture sessions twice per week for 4 weeks followed by 2 more sessions once per week Arm B: usual care Participants in both arms will report the hot flash frequency and severity daily (HFCS), and will fill three questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30, MenQoL, PSQI) according to the following timeline: T0 (baseline): 6 weeks following the first LHRHa administration T1: 6 weeks from T0 (corresponding to the end of acupuncture protocol for Arm A) T2: 18 weeks from T0 T3: 30 weeks from T0