A pilot phase II trial of magnesium supplements to reduce menopausal hot flashes in breast cancer patients
Open accessAbstract
Background We tested if magnesium would diminish bothersome hot flashes in breast cancer patients.Methods Breast cancer patients with at least 14 hot flashes a week received magnesium oxide 400 mg for 4 weeks, escalating to 800 mg if needed. Hot flash score (frequency × severity) at baseline was compared to the end of treatment.Results Of 29 who enrolled, 25 women completed treatment. The average age was 53.5 years; six African American, the rest Caucasian; eight were on tamoxifen, nine were on aromatase inhibitors, and 14 were on anti-depressants. Seventeen patients escalated the magnesium dose. Hot flash frequency/week was reduced from 52.2 (standard error (SE), 13.7) to 27.7 (SE, 5.7), a 41.4% reduction, p = 0.02, two-sided paired t test. Hot flash score was reduced from 109.8 (SE, 40.9) to 47.8 (SE, 13.8), a 50.4% reduction, p = 0.04. Of 25 patients, 14 (56%) had a >50% reduction in hot flash score, and 19 (76%) had a >25% reduction. Fatigue, sweating, and distress were all significantly reduced. Side effects were minor: two women stopped the drug including one each with headache and nausea, and two women had grade 1 diarrhea. Compliance was excellent, and many patients continued treatment after the trial.Conclusions Oral magnesium appears to have helped more than half of the patients and was well tolerated. Side effects and cost ($0.02/tablet) were minimal. A randomized placebo-controlled trial is planned.
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Magnesium supplementation reduces the perception of fatigue in breast cancer women and may improve endurance performance in physically active students.
“Supplementation with 400 or 800 mg magnesium daily for 4 weeks has been shown to reduce the perception of fatigue in 25 breast cancer women experiencing hot flushes in an uncontrolled pilot trial [134].”
From Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence (2020) · cites this paper as [134]
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References 19 · Cited by 31
- Authors
- Park, H., Parker, G. L., Boardman, C. H., Morris, M. M., & Smith, T. J.
- Affiliations
- Virginia Commonwealth University (US)
- University of Virginia Cancer Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Smith, Thomas J.
- Venue
- Supportive Care in Cancer
- Published
- 2011-01-27
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 859-863
- ISSN
- 0941-4355 (ISSN-L)
- 1433-7339
- PMC
- PMC3085555
- OpenAlex
- W2051748420
- Cited by
- 31
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Supportive Care in Cancer (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Office of Dietary Supplements
- National Cancer Institute (5P30 CA16059, R01CA116227, P30CA016059)
- U.S. National Library of Medicine (G08 LM0095259, G08LM009525)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Menopause: Health Impacts and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies
- Keywords
- magnesium supplementation, magnesium oxide, menopausal hot flashes, breast cancer, hot flash frequency, hot flash severity, fatigue, sweating, antidepressants, aromatase inhibitors, tamoxifen, tolerability, adverse effects
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Breast Neoplasms, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Magnesium Oxide, Menopause, Middle Aged, Pilot Projects, Severity of Illness Index, Drug Costs, Hot Flashes, Medication Adherence
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