Phase 2 data on a new treatment for hot flushes in women with breast cancer

Abstract

Bothersome vasomotor symptoms (ie, hot flashes or flushes and night sweats) are common after breast cancer, sometimes aggravated by chemotherapy-induced premature menopause or adjuvant endocrine treatments. Consequently, there is a long history of clinical trials testing a variety of centrally acting agents, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, gabapentin, and others,1,2 to manage vasomotor symptoms when menopausal oestrogen therapy (transdermal or oral oestrogens) is contraindicated.