title: Acupuncture for treating hot flushes in men with prostate cancer: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of the study was to assess the effects of acupuncture as a treatment for hot flushes in prostate cancer (PC) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The literature was searched using 14 databases with dates ranging from their inceptions to December 2008 and without language restrictions. All clinical studies of any type of acupuncture in PC patients were included. Their main outcome measures had to be vasomotor symptoms. Their methodological quality was assessed using the modified Jadad score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six studies met all the inclusion criteria. One randomised clinical trial compared the effects of manual acupuncture with acupuncture plus electro-acupuncture. The other five studies were uncontrolled observational studies and therefore had limitations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The evidence is not convincing to suggest acupuncture is an effective treatment for hot flush in patients with PC. Further research is required to investigate whether acupuncture has hot-flush-specific effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, 305-811, South Korea. drmslee@gmail.com
authors.forename: Myeong Soo
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kun-Hyung
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Byung-Cheul
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Sun-Mi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Edzard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ernst
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D015671:Electroacupuncture / Q000379:methods; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*