Hormone therapy for breast cancer

Definition

There are many ways to fight a tumor disease, one of them is hormone therapy. Breast cancer is often associated with hormones, so that hormone therapy can be used to influence the hormone balance. Among other things, this can result in slower growth.

Forms of hormone therapy

These are the different types of hormone therapy:

  • Additive hormone therapy: Here, hormones are administered to the body with the aim of slowing down or even stopping tumor growth. In most cases, an antagonist to the hormone of the original affected organ is used (e.g. estrogen administration in prostate cancer).
  • The ablative hormone therapy: The therapy consists of withdrawing hormones from the body. This is most likely to be achieved by surgical removal of the hormone-producing organ or with the help of medication. The aim of this therapy is also to stop the growth of the tumor by suppressing the hormonal growth stimulus.
  • The therapy with hormone antagonists: Here, no hormones are added or organs removed, but the effect of the hormones is blocked. This is done either by inhibiting hormone production or by inhibiting the target organ or hormone receptor.

When is hormone therapy for breast cancer useful?

Hormonal treatment of breast cancer is recommended if the tumor has hormone receptors. About 75-80% of patients have breast tumors that are sensitive to hormones. Various studies have shown that these patients benefit greatly from hormone therapy at all stages.

Depending on the stage, however, additional measures must be taken, such as the elimination of ovarian function, to ensure successful therapy. In pre-menopausal patients with stage I or IIA breast cancer, a sole anti-hormonal therapy may be considered if chemotherapy cannot be administered. In patients with metastatic breast cancer, treatment with anti-hormonal drugs is also recommended.

This therapy leads to an increase in survival time and in 20% to 30% of cases to remission. Compared to classical chemotherapy, the tumor-free period is also longer. Hormone therapies usually also have fewer undesirable side effects than classical chemotherapy.

Which hormone therapy should be used depends, among other things, on the stage of the disease and the tolerance of the drugs. As a rule, anti-hormonal therapy lasts several years. Before the menopause, the therapy should be followed for at least 5 years; after the menopause (menopause), the therapy lasts 4 to 10 years. Patients whose tumors have no hormone receptors benefit little or not at all from such treatment and should therefore not receive hormone therapy.