"Acupuncture might help reduce the hot flashes that frequently affect prostate cancer patients while theyre on hormone therapy a small study suggests.  The findings dont confirm that the ancient Chinese discipline relieves hot flashes and only  men participated in the study which was conducted by researchers at New York Methodist Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. Still our study shows that physicians and patients have an additional treatment for something that affects many men undergoing prostate cancer treatment and actually has longterm benefits as opposed to more side effects said lead author Dr. Hani Ashamalla a radiation oncologist at New York Methodist Hospital in a news release from the American Society for Radiation Oncology. Acupuncture a popular form of alternative medicine involves inserting ultrathin needles into the skin. We are now designing a randomized clinical trial to further evaluate acupuncture after prostate cancer treatment Ashamalla added.  Hormone therapy designed to reduce levels of testosterone in the body is one of the standard treatments for prostate cancer. However about half of patients who undergo hormone therapy suffer from hot flashes similar to those that women experience during menopause. It is a definite nuisance. Ive seen reports that upwards of  percent of men will get hot flashes said Dr. Stephen Freedland an associate professor of urology and pathology at Duke University in an interview. Usually its mild and selflimiting and improves with time. But there are some men who really have it bad. In the study researchers followed  men who were taking hormone therapy for prostate cancer and suffered from hot flashes.  They received acupuncture twice a week for  minutes over four weeks. Their reported level of hot flashes dropped markedly.  The question is whether the acupuncture reduced the hot flashes or a placebo effect played a role said Freedland whos familiar with the study findings.  Its also possible he said that the symptoms went away on their own which commonly happens to men on hormone therapy. However clearly these men described getting better and it happened over a very short period of time he said. The symptoms dont normally get better by that much that quickly. The study published in the April issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics also found that acupuncture relieved the heart palpitations and anxiety often associated with hormone therapy for prostate cancer. More information For more about prostate cancer http visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine. SOURCE American Society for Radiation Oncology press release April"