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Reviews
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Other Comments:
There are recently 4 papers relevant sources of information:
1: Loibl S, Lintermans A, Dieudonné AS, Neven P. Management of menopausal
symptoms in breast cancer patients. Maturitas. 2011 Feb;68(2):148-54. Epub 2010
Dec 23. Review. PubMed PMID: 21185135.
2: de Valois BA, Young TE, Robinson N, McCourt C, Maher EJ. Using traditional
acupuncture for breast cancer-related hot flashes and night sweats. J Altern
Complement Med. 2010 Oct;16(10):1047-57. PubMed PMID: 20954961.
3: Kang HS, Jeong D, Kim DI, Lee MS. The use of acupuncture for managing
gynaecologic conditions: An overview of systematic reviews. Maturitas. 2011
Apr;68(4):346-54. Epub 2011 Mar 3. PubMed PMID: 21376483.
4: Warnecke E. What works? Evidence for lifestyle and nonprescription therapies
in menopause. Aust Fam Physician. 2011 May;40(5):286-9. PubMed PMID: 21597545. -
Competing interests:
None.
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Invited by the author to review this article? :
No -
Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
No
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References:
Bill D. Misner Placebo May Be A Medicine 6 Dec 2002 -
Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:
Bill D. Misner Ph.D. Breast Cancer Hormone Profile: Is there a simple answer in plain view?
(4 June 2004). Janice Hopkins Tanne Daily aspirin reduces risk of breast cancer, study finds,http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/328/7452/1336-c
Bill D. Misner Ph.D.
Cancer Risk From Synergistic Dietary Interventions
bmj.com, 24 Mar 2002 [Full text]
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/324/7339/714#20796
"Nutritional Interventions for Reducing the Negative Side Effects of Chemotherapy."
http://www.cancure.org/Chemo_support.htm
http://www.cancure.org/help_side_effects.htm
Bill Misner Ph.D.
Are The Risks Of Hormone Therapy Explained?
10 Apr 2002 [Full text]. http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/324/7341/827#21174
- How to cite: Misner B .Menopausal Symptom Management With Acupuncture For Women With Breast Cancer [Review of the article 'Menopausal Symptom Management With Acupuncture For Women With Breast Cancer ' by Kern II J].WebmedCentral 2011;2(9):WMCRW00929
The main claims are women with menopausal symtpoms status post breast cancer treatment who underwent acupuncture
versus women who recieved educational materials and health life activities recommendations experienced a greater reduction
in hot flashes. Between the groups, there was not a significant difference in average quality of life scores and average ovarian
hormone measurements across time.
These claims do not appear to be novel. There have been a few articles that examine the same intervention (acupuncture) for
vasomotor symptom management in women diagnosed with breast cancer.
De valois BA, Young TE, Robinson N, Mccourt C, Maher EJ. Using traditional acupuncture for breast cancerrelated hot flashes
and night sweats. J Altern Complement Med. 2010;16(10):104757.
Walker EM, Rodriguez AI, Kohn B, et al. Acupuncture versus venlafaxine for the management of vasomotor symptoms in
patients with hormone receptorpositive breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial. J Clin Oncol. 2010;28(4):63440.
Yes. The authors acknowledge their claims are not novel and they provide citations to other studies that examine the same
topic the authors address.
The results support the claims of the authors. More evidence could be used with a validation of their tests, specifically the
survey they use to assess hot flash frequency.
No specific protocol was provided.
While they did acknowledge there was a high drop out rate in their control group, they did continue to do their analyses via
intention to treat. I would have also liked to see a protocol or better explanation of acupuncture sites that have been known
for vasomotor symptom management.
The paper could have used a detailed explanation as to why they used a placebo group and a control group. Most studies use
placebo groups as their control and it may have been more beneficial to compare the two groups between each other.
I believe this is already practiced in medicine. Complementary medicine is recommended and utilized especially in areas of
medicine where there is not a lot of literature and knowledge.
I thought the write up of the article itself needed some improvement. The introduction was dogged down with multiple studies
and the results of those studies. I failed to see a discussion section where alternative studies could be more examined. I also
would have liked to see a clearer logical flow for the study. The objective was stated in the methods and came in a place that
was unexpected.
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No
No
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Pharmacist