Study: Effexor Provides Relief From Hot Flashes for Breast Cancer Patients

Regular use of the antidepressant drug venlafaxine (Effexor) provides relief from hot flashes for breast cancer patients, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic.

Chemotherapy given to women with breast cancer often causes them to go into early menopause and experience severe hot flashes. Because estrogen has been linked to the risk of developing breast cancer, these women cannot take the hormone to help eliminate their hot flashes.

Venlafaxine controls certain neurotransmitters that are linked to depression and are also thought to trigger hot flashes. A total of 102 women who were given venlafaxine over eight weeks maintained a 60 percent reduction in their hot flashes. This was a follow-up to the first phase of the study where 200 women participated in a 4-week double-blind, randomized study of the drug.

"The clear message is that now many women with breast cancer do not have to suffer with their hot flashes and that women who want a non-estrogenic choice of treatment now have one," said Dr. Charles Loprinzi, Mayo oncologist and co-author of the study.

"The study also further reassures physicians and other health care providers that venlafaxine is a safe and effective nonhormonal treatment they can consider for their postmenopausal patients."

Researchers also found that venlafaxine can serve as an alternative to estrogen for menopausal women who want a nonhormonal therapy for their hot flashes, according to their report in Oncology Nursing Forum.

Other Sources: Mayo Clinic