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The use of flibanserin (Addyi) in women with breast cancer was associated with improvements in medically and treatment-induced decreased libido, according to a study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.

In this exclusive 番茄社区 video, Halle Moore, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic's Taussig Cancer Institute in Ohio, discussed results.

Following is a transcript of her remarks:

This was a small study out of Memorial Sloan Kettering assessing the value of flibanserin for improving sexual function in women with breast cancer.

So flibanserin is currently approved for premenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder that is not related to either a medical issue or a medication. So these investigators looked at this drug in women who have basically medically induced hypoactive sexual desire disorder. And all of these women were taking hormonal treatments for breast cancer, either tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor with or without ovarian ablation. Many of the women in this study were postmenopausal, and so this is really not the population for which the drug is approved.

They enrolled 49 patients on this trial, and patients received the medication nightly for 24 weeks. They were assessed monthly while on therapy for measurements of sexual function, as well as quality of life, sleep, and side effects. They were also evaluated at 1 year when they were no longer taking the medication.

And what they found was there were significant improvements in libido and other measures of sexual dysfunction in the women when they took this medication. So, many women appeared to benefit from the treatment. In addition, there was improvement in sleep scores and overall quality-of-life scores.

Now these effects tended to not persist at 1 year when they were no longer taking the medication. So you needed to be on the medication to get those benefits.

There were some side effects. This drug has been associated with low blood pressure and syncope, especially when taken with alcohol or with certain other medications. And in this study, they really didn't see a high incidence of those problems. They did see a lot of fatigue, however. So for some patients, there were side effects that might be unacceptable, but for others, there were really quite compelling quality-of-life improvements. And in their poster, they actually quote some of the patients and how much their lives were improved by being on this medication.

So it's really exciting to see that there are potential interventions for a very problematic issue in many of our breast cancer survivors. And while the drug is not currently approved in this context, probably the benefits applied to people beyond those for whom it's currently approved.

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