Nunez, G.R., Pinczowski, H., Zanellato, R., Tateyama, L., Schindler, F., Fonseca, F., & Del Giglio, A. (2013). Bupropion for control of hot flashes in breast cancer survivors: A prospective, double-blind, randomized, crossover, pilot phase II trial. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 45, 969–979.
To evaluate the efficacy of a smoking cessation medication in controlling symptoms of hot flashes in patients with breast cancer receiving hormonotherapy
In the first phase of this crossover clinical trial, the intervention group received bupropion 150 mg for three days and 300 mg during the rest of the four-week period. The control group received placebo in the same four weeks. After one week of washout time, the groups were combined and crossed over to receive the same dose as the intervention or placebo at the beginning for four more weeks. The study was 10 weeks in length for both groups.
The reduction in hot flashes for the intervention group was 1.26 per day, without any difference in sexual function occurring nor statistical significance of side effects experienced between groups.
There was no activity shown for bupropion over placebo for control of hot flashes.
Bupropion is not recommended in practice for women with breast cancer. It was not statistically significant in controlling the symptoms of hot flashes in comparison with the placebo group.