CHICAGO, June 4, 2007 — Women on tamoxifen therapy who reported having hot flashes were less likely to develop recurrent breast cancer than those who did not report hot flashes, according to a study from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Moreover, hot flashes were a stronger predictor of outcome than age, hormone receptor status or even how advanced the breast cancer was at diagnosis
Cancer recurrence among women who reported hot flashes was about 12.9 percent, compared with 21 percent for women not reporting hot flashes. These data were consistent across all years of follow-up, regardless of age or menopausal status.
“This study provides the first evidence that hot flashes may be an indicator of a better prognosis in women with early stage breast cancer,” said the study’s senior author, John P. Pierce, Ph.D, director of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. “Our data support the possibility of a significant association between hot flashes and disease outcome.”