Abstract
The application of surgery, chemoradiotherapy, and endocrine treatment successfully increases survival rates of breast cancer patients. However, perimenopausal symptoms, the main side effects of these treatments, often afflict patients and reduce their quality of life. Perimenopausal symptoms include vasomotor symptoms, sleep problems, arthromuscular symptoms, and osteoporosis. Currently, there are no satisfactory treatments for perimenopausal symptoms that result from these treatments. Therefore, alternative and complementary therapies including herbal medicines represented by Chinese medicines (CMs), acupuncture, massage, and psychotherapy are increasingly being expected and explored. In this paper, we review the effects and potentials of several CM formulae, along with some active ingredients or fractions from CMs, Chinese herbal extracts, and other herbal medicines, which have drawn attention for improving perimenopausal symptoms in breast cancer patients. We also elaborate their possible mechanisms. Moreover, further studies for evaluation of standardized clinical efficacy should be scientifically well-designed and continuously performed to investigate the efficacy and mechanisms of CMs for perimenopausal symptoms due to breast cancer therapy. The safety and value of estrogen-containing CMs for breast cancer should also be clarified.
Highlights
With the comprehensive applications of surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and endocrine therapy, more women are becoming long-term breast cancer survivors (Bouzbid et al, 2018)
Many breast cancer survivors are plagued by perimenopausal symptoms caused by these treatments, such as vasomotor symptoms, sleep problems, unhealthy emotions, sexual dysfunction, arthromuscular symptoms, and osteoporosis
The results showed that the total score of Chinese medicines (CMs) symptoms, including fatigue, loss of appetite, hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep quality in the Erxian Decoction group were significantly improved after 2 months of treatment
Summary
With the comprehensive applications of surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and endocrine therapy, more women are becoming long-term breast cancer survivors (Bouzbid et al, 2018). SSRIs and SNRIs have some effects on perimenopausal symptoms of breast cancer but can cause serious adverse effects such as constipation, dry mouth, and decreased appetite, limiting their clinical applications (Stearns and Loprinzi, 2003; Sturdee, 2008; Hall et al, 2011) Other treatments, such as vitamin E and oryzanol, either have poor clinical efficacy or remain in the research phase (Barton et al, 1998). We review the effects and potentials of several CM formulae, along with some active ingredients or fractions from CMs, Chinese herbal extracts, and other herbal medicines (Table 1) that have gained attention for improving perimenopausal symptoms due to breast cancer therapy in current clinical and experimental studies. We elaborate their possible mechanisms to provide a reference for future studies and clinical applications
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