RESULTS Reassurance plus bra-fitting advice provides relief for most women .
There is some benefit in reducing dietary coffee and fat intake .
Dopamine agonists are useful , but less effective than endocrine treatments such as Danazol or Tamoxifen .
Of the Selective Oestrogen Receptor Modulator drugs , Ormeloxifene appears most effective , but is not licenced in the United Kingdom .
Relaxation therapy , acupuncture and kinesiology may be useful but currently lack good evidence of effectiveness .
Subsequent drug therapy should be balanced against its side-effects ; topical NSAIDs and Ormeloxifene show greatest benefit with least side-effects .
INTRODUCTION Idiopathic mastalgia ( benign breast pain of unknown origin ) is often poorly managed because of its subjective nature and unclear aetiology .
Mastalgia is a reason for up to 50 % of breast outpatient referrals .
Existing systematic review s discuss date d treatment options that provide limited symptomatic relief .
Topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs versus oil of evening primrose in the treatment of mastalgia.
OBJECTIVE To compare oil of evening primrose ( OEP ) and topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory ( NSAIDs ) with respect to safety , effectiveness , rapidity of response , cost effectiveness and acceptability in the treatment of breast pain . STUDY DESIGN An open , non-r and omised , comparative study of topical ( NSAI ) gel versus OEP was carried out , over a period of one year . PATIENTS AND METHODS Fifty female patients attending the outpatient department with moderate to severe breast pain were given one of the two agents alternatively , after selection . RESULTS Results showed that out of 25 patients treated with OEP , 64 % had a clinical ly significant response after three months of treatment , compared with 92 % with topical NSAIDs . Only one patient ( 4 % ) had side effects with OEP , while no patient had side effects with topical NSAIDs . Twenty per cent and seventy per cent showed acceptability as far as costs were concerned and mode of administration respectively , with OEP . The acceptability rate was 68 % and 96 % respectively , with topical NSAIDs . CONCLUSION This study has shown topical NSAIDs to be safe , effective , rapid and acceptable mode of treatment for cyclical and non-cyclical mastalgia
RESULTS Reassurance plus bra-fitting advice provides relief for most women .
There is some benefit in reducing dietary coffee and fat intake .
Dopamine agonists are useful , but less effective than endocrine treatments such as Danazol or Tamoxifen .
Of the Selective Oestrogen Receptor Modulator drugs , Ormeloxifene appears most effective , but is not licenced in the United Kingdom .
Relaxation therapy , acupuncture and kinesiology may be useful but currently lack good evidence of effectiveness .
Subsequent drug therapy should be balanced against its side-effects ; topical NSAIDs and Ormeloxifene show greatest benefit with least side-effects .
INTRODUCTION Idiopathic mastalgia ( benign breast pain of unknown origin ) is often poorly managed because of its subjective nature and unclear aetiology .
Mastalgia is a reason for up to 50 % of breast outpatient referrals .
Existing systematic review s discuss date d treatment options that provide limited symptomatic relief .