MedWire News: Women who are undergoing treatment for breast cancer may benefit from relaxation training to reduce the frequency and severity of hot flushes, say UK researchers.

Hot flushes are uncomfortable sensations of heat that are often associated with hormone changes among women who are going through the menopause. However, women of any age who are receiving treatment for breast cancer can also experience hot flushes because some medications used to treat the disease can cause a menopause-type state.

To investigate whether relaxation training can help reduce hot flushes associated with breast cancer treatment, Dr Deborah Fenlon, from the University of Southampton, and colleagues studied 150 breast cancer patients, aged 36 to 77 years, who were experiencing such symptoms.

Around half the women attended a relaxation training session and were asked to use practice tapes on a daily basis at home for 1 month. The remaining patients received no such training.

All the women were asked to record the frequency and severity of hot flushes over the course of the study period.

After 1 month, the average number of hot flushes experienced by the women who received relaxation training had fallen from five to four a day. These women also experienced a reduction in the severity of hot flushes and, consequently, a fall in distress levels caused by such symptoms.

In contrast, the other women in the study experienced no such benefits.

Dr Fenton and team conclude in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management: "This study showed a small, but significant reduction in the incidence, severity and distress caused by hot flushes in women with breast cancer who underwent training in relaxation."

They add: "Although doubts remain about the possibility of a placebo effect and the fact that this effect was small, there may be real benefits for some women who use relaxation for the relief of hot flushes."