Effect of Evening Primrose Oil and Vitamin B6 on Pain Control of Cyclic Mastalgia Associated with Fibrocystic Breast Changes: A Triple-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: Mastalgia is the most common symptom of fibrocystic breast changes. It causes concern and fear of breast cancer and has negative effects on quality of life. The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of evening primrose oil (EPO) and vitamin B6 in the pain control of cyclic mastalgia. Methods: This triple-blind randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 94 patients with mastalgia referring to the breast clinic of Milad hospital, Tehran, Iran. The participants were randomly assigned to three groups: EPO (n = 33), vitamin B6 (n = 31), and placebo (n = 30). The mastalgia severity in the three groups was measured using Visual analogue scale (VAS) before intervention and at the first, second, and third months after the beginning of the intervention using SPSS 18. Results: The results of this study showed that the mean severity of breast pain significantly reduced at the first, second, and third months after the intervention in the EPO (2.61 ± 2.35) and vitamin B6 groups (2.81 ± 1.97) (P < 0.001). However, the mean score of pain severity in the placebo group before and after the intervention did not show a statistically significant difference (5.38 ± 2.28) (P = 0.815). In addition, the difference in the mean score of pain severity between the two groups of EPO and vitamin B6 was not statistically significant (P = 0.999). Conclusions: The results of this study showed that vitamin B6 and EPO have the same therapeutic effects in the treatment of cyclic mastalgia. Because of the low cost and more availability of vitamin B6 compared to EPO, it can be used in the first line of treatment.