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Hormone therapy

Treatments

  Chemotherapy   Immunotherapy   Targeted Therapy   Hormonal Therapy   Palliative Therapy   Procedures

Hospital Information

Enquiry Number   0261-2240974   0261-2242862 Opening Hours   Monday - Saturday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM   Sunday - Closed

HORMONETHERAPY

  • How hormone therapy is used to treat cancer

  • Some cancers depend on hormones to grow. Because of this, treatments that block or alter hormones can sometimes help slow or stop the growth of these cancers. Treating cancer with hormones is called hormone therapy, hormonal therapy, or endocrine therapy. Hormone therapy is mostly used to treat certain kinds of breast cancer and prostate cancer that depend on sex hormones to grow. A few other cancers can be treated with hormone therapy, too.

  • Hormone therapy is considered a systemic treatment because the hormones they target circulate in the body. The drugs used in hormone therapy travel throughout the body to target and find the hormones. This makes it different from treatments that affect only a certain part of the body.

  • How hormone therapy works


  • Hormone therapy travels throughout the body to find and target hormones. Different types of hormone therapy work in different ways. They can:

  •   Stop the body from making the hormone

  •   Block the hormone from attaching to cancer cells

  •   Alter the hormone so it doesn't work as it should

  • Hormone therapy can be used to:

  •   Treat a certain kind of cancer by stopping or slowing its growth

  •   Lessen symptoms related to a certain type of cancer cells

  • It is present in oral, subcutaneous , IV or IM forms

  • Types of Hormone Therapy


  • There are several different types of hormone therapy. Here are some examples and the cancers they might be used to treat.

  • Breast cancer

  •   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

  •   Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists, such as goserelin, leuprolide, and triptorelin

  •   Surgery to remove the ovaries (known as an oophorectomy)

  • Prostate cancer

  •   Anti-androgens, such as apalutamide, enzalutamide, darolutamide, bicalutamide, flutamide, and nilutamide (also called androgen deprivation therapy or ADT)

  •   CYP17 inhibitors, such as abiraterone and ketoconazole

  •   Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists and antagonists, such as goserelin, leuprolide, triptorelin, and degarelix

  •   Surgery to remove the testicles (known as an orchiectomy or surgical castration)

  • Endometrial (lining of the uterus or womb) cancer

  •   Progestins, such as medroxyprogesterone acetate or megestrol acetate

  •   Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists, such as goserelin, and leuprolide

  •   Aromatase inhibitors (AIs), such as letrozole, anastrozole, and exemestane

  • Adrenal cancer

  •   Adrenolytics, such as mitotane

  • Hormone therapy side effects

  • Men who get hormone therapy for prostate cancer might have these possible side effects:

  •   Hot flashes

  •   Decreased sexual desire

  •   Erectile dysfunction (trouble getting an erection)

  •   Bone loss and a higher risk for fractures

  •   Fatigue

  •   Weight gain (especially around the belly) with decreased muscle mass

  •   Memory problems

  •   Increased risk of other health problems

  • Women getting hormone therapy for breast or endometrial cancer might have these possible side effects :

  •   Hot flashes

  •   Vaginal discharge, dryness, or irritation

  •   Decreased sexual desire

  •   Fatigue

  •   Nausea

  •   Pain in muscles and joints

  •   Bone loss and a higher risk for fractures

  •   Higher risk of other types of cancer, stroke, blood clots, cataracts, and heart disease