An acupuncturist may be just as good as a doctor in treating the many uncomfortable side effects of breast cancer treatment, a new study says.

Researchers have found that acupuncture is as effective at reducing treatment side effects, such as hot flashes, night sweats and excessive sweating, as conventional drug treatment.

In a study of 47 breast cancer patients, researchers from the Henry Ford Hospital found that acupuncture reduced symptoms just as well as the antidepressant drug Effexor, but with no side effects.

Acupuncture also boosted many of the patients' energy levels, feelings of well being and sex drive. Patients who took Effexor did not experience these added benefits.

"Our study shows that physicians and patients have an additional therapy for something that affects the majority of breast cancer survivors and actually has benefits, as opposed to more side effects," lead researcher Dr. Eleanor Walker, a radiation oncologist at Henry Ford Hospital, said in a statement.

The study's findings will be presented Wednesday at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's annual meeting in Boston.

About 80 per cent of breast cancer patients who are treated with chemotherapy or anti-estrogen therapy suffer from hot flashes and other menopause-like symptoms.

These patients are often given steroids or antidepressants to alleviate treatment side effects because they can't have hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which can increase the risk of cancer recurrence.

Steroids and antidepressants can cause side effects such as nausea, dry mouth, headache, sleeplessness, decreased sex drive and anxiety.

In their study, Walker and her colleagues included breast cancer patients who were being treated with the anti-cancer drugs Tamoxifen or Arimidex.

The patients experienced at least 14 hot flashes per week in addition to other side effects.

After 12 weeks of treatment, the women who received acupuncture had fewer hot flashes and other symptoms. The women who took Effexor also got relief, but they suffered from the drug's common side effects.