Menopausal Symptoms in Women With Breast Cancer

OBJECTIVES:

• Retrieve data from an archived database of a closed clinical trial that involved treatment with sertraline hydrochloride or a placebo for the management of hot flashes or other menopausal symptoms in women with breast cancer or at high risk of breast cancer.
• Analyze the results of this closed clinical trial so that they can be published.

OUTLINE: Data from an archived database of a closed clinical trial is retrieved. Descriptive analyses of outcome variables (e.g., menopausal symptoms, including number and intensity of hot flashes, and psychosocial and quality of life scales) are conducted to gain insight into their distributional aspects. Data is analyzed using ANOVA with repeated measures to account for the changes within a patient over time as a function of treatment assignment. Summary scores from the psychosocial scales that are reasonably complete (i.e., FACT-B and POMS) are examined using mixed linear models to account for patient-specific differences, treatment effects, and variable patterns of completeness.