My Breakthrough
Hormone treatment for secondary breast cancer
Hormone treatments block the production of oestrogen and progesterone or reduce the ability of cancer cells to respond to the hormones.
Hormones are natural substances that control the growth and activity of cells in the body. The female hormone, oestrogen, which is made in the ovaries, can make breast cancer cells grow. So can the other female hormone, progesterone.
Hormone treatments block the production of these female hormones or reduce the ability of cancer cells to respond to the hormones. If your cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in your neck, or to your bones, you may be offered hormone treatment because it works best in this type of secondary breast cancer.
To find out if your secondary breast cancer will respond to hormone treatment, a receptor test will be carried out on your breast tumour.
If your receptor test is positive, you will be offered hormone treatment with one of these drugs:
The hormone treatments used to treat breast cancer are completely different to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) used to treat menopausal symptoms.
Another option if you are pre-menopausal is to have an operation to remove your ovaries. This is called oophorectomy.
Any hormone treatment for secondary breast cancer will depend on what treatments you have had before - for example, if you have previously had tamoxifen, your doctor may suggest trying something different at this stage.
Hormone treatments block the production of these female hormones or reduce the ability of cancer cells to respond to the hormones. If your cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in your neck, or to your bones, you may be offered hormone treatment because it works best in this type of secondary breast cancer.
To find out if your secondary breast cancer will respond to hormone treatment, a receptor test will be carried out on your breast tumour.
If your receptor test is positive, you will be offered hormone treatment with one of these drugs:
- Anti-oestrogens (eg: tamoxifen [Nolvadex], toremifene [Faveston])
- Aromatase inhibitors (eg: anastrozole [Arimidex], exemestane [Aromasin], letrozole [Femara])
- Goserelin [Zoladex]
- Progesterones (eg: medroxyprogesterone acetate [Provera], megesterol acetate [Megace])
The hormone treatments used to treat breast cancer are completely different to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) used to treat menopausal symptoms.
Another option if you are pre-menopausal is to have an operation to remove your ovaries. This is called oophorectomy.
Any hormone treatment for secondary breast cancer will depend on what treatments you have had before - for example, if you have previously had tamoxifen, your doctor may suggest trying something different at this stage.
Also within "Secondary breast cancer"
- Hormone treatment for secondary breast cancer
- Oophorectomy
- Radiotherapy for secondary breast cancer
- Chemotherapy for secondary breast cancer
- Antibody treatments for secondary breast cancer
