Clinical Oncology & Radiation Therapy

Hormonal Therapy

Hormones are substances made by glands in the body that function as Chemical signals. They affect the actions of cells and tissues at various locations in the body, often reaching their targets by travelling through blood stream. Treating disease condition with Hormones is called as Hormonal therapy. Hormonal therapy may also be called Anti-hormone treatment.  Think of it as the opposite of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).Hormone therapy is a form of systemic therapy, meaning it reaches cancer cells anywhere in the body and not just in the breast. It is recommended for women with hormone receptor-positive (ER-positive and/or PR-positive) Breast cancers, but it does not help women whose tumors are hormone receptor-negative (both ER- and PR-negative). Most types of hormone therapy for breast cancer either lower estrogen levels or stop estrogen from acting on breast cancer cells. For treating Breast cancer, majorly two types of drugs are generally used. First, Drugs that block estrogen like Tamoxifen, Fulvestrant (Faslodex®) or Drugs that lower estrogen Aromatase inhibitors (AIs). Hormonal therapy is also used in treating few cases of Prostate cancer.