Hormone Therapy and Breast Cancer

Hormone therapy is used to fight breast cancer by removing, blocking or even adding hormones to the body.  In breast cancer patients, hormones such as estrogen and progesterone can stimulate growth in cancer cells.  Doctors recommend hormone therapy to block the cancer’s growth by halting the naturally occurring hormones in the body.

In a nutshell, hormone therapy works to accomplish the following:

• Stop the growth of cancer and prevent spread or slow cancer cell’s rate of growth
• If surgery is an option, reduce the tumor size
• Lower the development risk of cancer in unaffected breast tissue
• Prevent the recurrence of cancer once tumors have been removed

Common Hormone Therapy Drugs

The most common drugs used to treat breast cancer work in direct relationship with hormone production and release.  These drugs include:

• Tamoxifen
• Femara
• Megace
• Fareston
• Lupron

The hormone therapy drug Tamoxifen is one of the leaders of its kind in the treatment of breast cancer.  The drug has been a well-received cancer treating drug for over thirty years.  Tamoxifen is often given to stop the spread of metastatic breast cancer and inhibit the growth of cancer cells in the unaffected breast.

Since the estrogen hormones in the body can promote the growth and spread of breast cancer cells, Tamoxifen nullifies the growth by blocking the attachment of the hormone to its receptors.  The blockage actually stops the growth of cancer cells.

Other well known breast cancer treating drugs work to stop the production of estrogen in the body.  For example, Lupron is often given to premenopausal women to treat breast cancers that are estrogen sensitive. 

Hormone therapy drugs are among the most successful treatments for combating breast cancer.  Thanks to growing awareness and support, research and improvements continue and the success rate is ever-increasing.

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