[EFFICACY OF KEISHIBUKURYOGAN FOR HOT FLASH ASSOCIATED WITH HORMONE THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH PROSTATE CANCER]

The present retrospective study investigated the efficacy and safety of keishibukuryogan for hot flashes associated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in patients with prostate cancer. Between January 2018 and September 2024, 102 prostate cancer patients who were administered keishibukuryogan for the first time for treatment of hot flash were included in this study. Three months after the treatment, the efficacy of this drugs was assessed based on any improvement in subjective symptoms by the medical interview as follows ;"ineffective", "slightly effective", "moderately effective", and"excellently effective". Desire to continue this drug, the duration of continuation, and adverse effects were investigated. The cases in which efficacy was"slightly effective"or better were defined as the responder group, and patients'characteristics were compared between the responder and non-responder groups. The mean age was 72.2 years, and the mean period from the start of ADT to keishibukuryogan administration was 14.5 months. The efficacy of this drug was excellent in 3 cases, moderately effective in 11, slightly effective in 36, and ineffective in 52. Fifty-six patients desired to continue the treatment after three months. The average duration of drug continuation in the responder group was 13.7 months. In the responder group, the cases with a history of radiation therapy were significantly frequent (p＝0.0277). Six patients discontinued the drug administration due to adverse effects, with 3 experiencing itching, and 1 each experiencing loose stools, nightmares, and difficulty taking the drug. Keishibukuryogan was effective in approximately half of the cases with hot flash.