Breast Cancer Treatment – Hormone Therapy

Hormone Therapy for Breast Cancer

Many types of breast cancer are hormone-responsive, meaning they depend on hormones for growth. If your tumor is hormone-responsive, your doctors may consider hormone therapy as part of your breast cancer treatment plan. The goal of hormone therapy treatment is to prevent estrogen from stimulating the growth of any cancer cells that may have moved away from the tumor to other parts of the body, or at the tumor site itself.

Common types of hormone therapy include:

• SERMs (selective estrogen receptor modulators), such as tamoxifen (Nolvadex), which bind to estrogen receptors in the breast cancer cells, are able to block estrogen from reaching cancer cells, which prevents their growth.
  
  You may have heard of the most well known SERM, tamoxifen, which is used for both early and advanced stage breast cancer treatment. Tamoxifen is also used in post-menopausal women at high risk for developing breast cancer and to prevent recurrence of breast cancer in previously treated patients. Tamoxifen has the advantage of keeping your bones a little stronger throughout the course of your breast cancer treatment and can also work to somewhat lower cholesterol.


• Aromatase inhibitors, such as Femara (letrozole), Arimidex (anastrozole) and Aromasin (exemestane) are hormone therapy drugs that block estrogen production by binding to the enzyme responsible for producing estrogen, the aromatase enzyme. Once estrogen production is stopped, the cancer cells starve from lack of estrogen, which prevents them from growing and dividing.
  
  Femara is used for treating advanced stage breast cancer and may be useful in patients who are resistant to tamoxifen. Arimidex is another aromatase inhibitor used to treat advanced stage breast cancer.

Other types of hormone therapies are used for breast cancer treatment beside SERMs and aromatase inhibitors. Zoladex (goserelin acetate) blocks the release of estrogen by mimicking the body’s lutenizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH). Faslodex (fulvestrant) destroys estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells instead of binding to the receptors. This may be a good choice for women who have become resistant to tamoxifen.

While going through hormone therapy, you may experience menopause-like symptoms like night sweats, hot flashes or a change in your sexual drive. To complement our conventional therapies, your cancer care team at CTCA can recommend alternative/supportive therapies during your breast cancer treatment, such as naturopathic medicine and more, to help you face these challenges.

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Breast Cancer