Breast Cancer Treatment Options: Hormone Therapy
Some tumors rely on female hormones of estrogen and/or progesterone to grow. In those women with estrogen- or progesterone-dependent tumors, hormone therapy may be used to prevent the growth, spread and recurrence of breast cancer.
The type of hormone therapy you receive depends upon many factors, such as the type and size of the tumor, your age, the presence of hormone receptors on the tumor, and other factors.
Types
- Tamoxifen (Nolvadex®) works by blocking the effects of estrogen on the growth of malignant cells in breast tissue. The drug slows or stops the growth of cancer cells that need estrogen to grow and spread, and also has been shown to help prevent the development and recurrence of breast cancer. As a preventive therapy, tamoxifen has been shown to help prevent the development of breast cancer in high-risk women.
- Raloxifene (Evista®), another estrogen-blocker, is used to prevent breast cancer in both postmenopausal women and women who have osteoporosis. Raloxifene is the second drug of choice after tamoxifen for breast cancer prevention.
- Aromatase inhibitors
These drugs prevent estrogen production, and are used to treat advanced breast cancer or to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.- Anastrozole (Arimidex®)
- Letrozole (Femara®)
- Exemestane (Aromasin®)
- Fulvestrant (Faslodex®) is another drug used in postmenopausal women whose disease has spread after taking anti-estrogen therapy. Fulvestrant binds with the estrogen receptor and eliminates it, rather than just blocking it, as well as decreases the number of estrogen receptors.
Trial Administration