HOT FLASHES IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN TREATED FOR BREAST-CARCINOMA - PREVALENCE, SEVERITY, CORRELATES, MANAGEMENT, AND RELATION TO QUALIFY OFLIFE

BACKGROUND. Research on hot Rashes (HFs) after the diagnosis and treat ment of breast carcinoma (BC) is scarce. To our knowledge, this resear ch represents the second study of HF prevalence and severity in women with BC and the first study of 1) correlates of HF prevalence and seve rity, 2) use of HF management strategies, and 3) the relation between HFs and quality of life (QOL) among women with BC. METHODS. Eligible w omen (n = 136) participated in structured telephone interviews. RESULT S. Of the 114 postmenopausal women interviewed, 65% reported HFs, with 59% of women with HFs (n = 74) rating the symptom as severe. Multivar iate analysis revealed that 1) HFs were most common in women with a hi gh school education or less and those who were younger at diagnosis an d 2) HFs were most severe in women with a higher body mass index, thos e who were younger at diagnosis, and those receiving tamoxifen. Among women with HFs, 37% were not using any HF management strategies and 63 % expressed interest in learning more regarding greater than or equal to 1 strategy. HFs marginally were related to decreased mental and phy sical QOL using the SF-12 Health Survey (P < 0.10). CONCLUSIONS. The r esults of the current study significantly contribute to knowledge rega rding HFs in women with BC and support the need for carefully controll ed clinical trials evaluating interventions for relieving HFs in this population. (C) 1998 American Cancer Society.