362
Views
43
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Article

Non-hormonal treatment of hot flushes in breast cancer survivors: gabapentin vs. vitamin E

, , , , , , , & show all
Pages 310-318 | Received 18 Aug 2008, Accepted 01 Jan 2009, Published online: 21 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

Objectives To assess the efficacy and the tolerability of gabapentin 900 mg/day compared to vitamin E for the control of vasomotor symptoms in 115 women with breast cancer. The secondary objective was to evaluate the effect of the treatments on the quality of sleep and other aspects of the quality of life.

Methods A hot flush diary was completed daily; sleep quality and other menopausal symptoms were assessed with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and the SF-36 Health Survey.

Results The prescribed treatment with gabapentin was never started by 28.3% of the patients and was interrupted by 28% for side-effects (dizziness and somnolence). Among the women allocated to vitamin E, 16.36% never started therapy and 34.78% dropped out because of inefficacy. Hot flush frequency and score decreased by 57.05% and 66.87%, respectively (p < 0.05) in the gabapentin group. The effect of vitamin E was fairly small: hot flush frequency and score were reduced by 10.02% and 7.28%, respectively (p > 0.05). Gabapentin was also particularly effective in improving the quality of sleep (PSQI score reduction: 21.33%, p < 0.05).

Conclusion Gabapentin appears to be effective for the treatment of hot flushes with a favorable effect on quality of sleep. Vitamin E has only marginal effect on vasomotor symptoms.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.