Magnesium supplements relieve hot flashes in breast cancer patients

Sunday Jan 30, 2011 (foodconsumer.org) -- A pilot II trial report published in the Jan 27, 2011 issue of Support Care Cancer suggests that taking magnesium supplements may help reduce hot flashes in breast cancer patients.

Hot flashes result from reduced levels of estrogen in healthy postmenopausal women.  In premenopausal women with breast cancer treated with chemotherapy, ovarian function usually stops leading to extremely low levels of estradiol and vasomotor instability with symptoms like hot flashes.

Postmenopausal women with breast cancer who receive treatments such as tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors such as anastrozole (Arimidex®), exemestane (Aromasin®) and letrozole (Femara®) can also experience hot flashes as aromatase inhibitors reduce already low levels of estradiol in the patients.

Park H and colleagues from Virginia Commonwealth University Health System in Richmond, VA gave magnesium supplements in a dose of 400 mg magnesium oxide to 29 breast cancer patients who experienced at least 14 hot flashes a week. The treatment lasted four weeks. The dose increased to 800 mg when needed.

Twenty five breast cancer patients finished the treatment. Among the subjects, six were African American and 19 Caucasian.  Eight were using Tamoxifen and nine were on aromatase inhibitors and 14 were being treated with anti-depressants.  During the trial, 17 used an increased dose of magnesium oxide.

The researchers observed that the frequency of hot flashes per week was decreased to 27.7 from 52.2 at baseline, a reduction of 41.4 percent.  The hot flash score was also reduced to 47.8 from 109.8, a reduction of 50.4 percent.

Of 25 breast cancer patients who had finished the trial, 14 experienced a greater than 50 percent reduction in hot flash score while 19 had a greater than 25 percent reduction.

Additionally, fatigue, sweating and distress were reduced significantly and side effects were found, but minimal.  It was noticed that two breast cancer patients experienced headache and nausea ad two other had grade 1 diarrhea.

The researchers have planned to conduct a randomized placebo controlled trial on the effect of magnesium supplements on hot flashes in breast cancer patients.

David Liu, Ph.D.