What is hormonal therapy for breast cancer?
Hormone therapy for breast cancer is a treatment for breast cancers that are sensitive to hormones. The most common forms of hormone therapy for breast cancer work by blocking hormones from attaching to receptors on cancer cells or by decreasing the body’s production of hormones.
What are the two types of hormone therapy for cancer treatment?
Types of hormone therapy
- Aromatase inhibitors (AIs), such as anastrozole, exemestane, and letrozole.
- Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), such as tamoxifen and raloxifene.
- Estrogen receptor antagonists, such as fulvestrant and toremifene.
How is hormone therapy done?
Hormone therapy can be given in a few ways: Oral medication – Taken by mouth. Injection – Given by an injection under the skin (subcutaneous) or in the muscle (intramuscular). Surgical intervention – Removal of the ovaries in women, or testicles in men, causes lower levels of hormones being made.
How does hormone cancer therapy work?
Hormone therapy for cancer uses medicines to block or lower the amount of hormones in the body to stop or slow down the growth of cancer. Hormone therapy stops hormones being made or prevents hormones from making cancer cells grow and divide. It does not work for all cancers.
What are hormone therapy drugs?
They stop the signal that the body sends to the ovaries to make estrogen, which causes temporary menopause. Common LHRH drugs include goserelin (Zoladex) and leuprolide (Lupron). They can be used alone or with other hormone drugs (tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors, fulvestrant) as hormone therapy in pre-menopausal women.
What are side effects of hormone therapy?
Hormone therapy side effects can include vaginal dryness, discharge, itching, or irritation. It can also cause changes to the menstrual cycle and cause vaginal bleeding that is not related to a period. Hot flashes and night sweats. Hot flashes are very common for people receiving hormone therapy.
What are the effects of hormone therapy?
What are the benefits of hormone therapy?
The main benefit of HRT is that it can help relieve most menopausal symptoms, such as:
- hot flushes.
- night sweats.
- mood swings.
- vaginal dryness.
- reduced sex drive.
Is tamoxifen a hormone therapy?
Tamoxifen is a type of hormonal therapy known as a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM). The drug attaches to hormone receptors (specific proteins) in breast cancer cells. Once the medication is inside the cells, it stops the cancer from accessing the hormones they need to multiply and grow.
Why is hormone therapy recommended?
Hormone therapy is a type of cancer treatment that removes, blocks, or adds specific hormones to the body. It is also called hormonal therapy or endocrine therapy. A main reason that hormone therapy may be recommended is because some types of cancer use the body’s natural hormones to fuel their growth.