Managing risk of recurrence with hormonal treatment

Hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, are naturally produced by organs in the body, and they regulate bodily processes. Some breast cancer tumors need estrogen and/or progesterone to grow. These tumors are said to have receptors for the hormones estrogen and/or progesterone. Breast cancer tumors that have these receptors are called estrogen receptor-positive and/or progesterone receptor-positive, and are also referred to as hormone receptor-positive.

Hormonal (estrogen-blocking/reducing) treatment is a way of treating breast cancer through the use of drugs that either block the effect of estrogen or that reduce estrogen levels.

Lab tests of your cancer biopsy can give your medical team information about the hormone receptor status of your cancer. Hormonal treatment works best when the tumor cells are hormone receptor-positive. For those cancers that are not hormone receptor-positive, hormonal treatment usually has little effect and thus is not used.

It is important to note that hormonal treatment is not the same as hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Hormonal treatment for breast cancer is used to block the effect of estrogen, or to reduce estrogen levels. The goal is to keep estrogen from reaching cancer cells. Hormone replacement therapy, on the other hand, supplies estrogen to women to help to ease the symptoms of menopause. HRT should not be used if you have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Hormonal treatment is commonly used as adjuvant therapy. This means that it is used in addition to surgery and/or radiation. Hormonal treatment is not meant to take the place of surgery and/or radiation for early breast cancer. Rather, it acts in a different way to help decrease the chance of the breast cancer coming back (also called recurrence).

There are several types of hormonal treatments used. These treatments differ in the way that they work in the body. Talk to your doctor about which hormonal treatment is right for you.

To learn more about how hormonal treatment works and the different types of hormonal treatments, click here.