Cart 
EN Hormone therapy
Hormone therapy Overview
Hormone therapy is a cancer treatment that slows or stops the growth of cancer that uses hormones to grow. Hormone therapy is also called hormonal therapy, hormone treatment, or endocrine therapy. Hormones are proteins or substances made by the body that help to control how certain types of cells work. For example , some parts of the body rely on sex hormones, such as estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone, to function properly. There are other types of hormones in our bodies, too, such as thyroid hormones, cortisol, adrenaline, and insulin. Different types of hormones are made by different organs or glands.
Some cancers depend on hormones to grow. Because of this, treatments that block or alter hormones can sometimes help slow or stop the growth of these cancers. Treating cancer with hormones is called hormone therapy, hormonal therapy, or endocrine therapy. Hormone therapy is mostly used to treat certain kinds of breast cancer and prostate cancer that depend on sex hormones to grow. A few other cancers can be treated with hormone therapy, too. Hormone therapy is considered a systemic treatment because the hormones they target circulate in the body. The drugs used in hormone therapy travel throughout the body to target and find the hormones. This makes it different from treatments that affect only a certain part of body.
Hormone therapy works
Hormone therapy travels throughout the body to find and target hormones. Different types of hormone therapy work in different ways. They can:
● Stop the body from making the hormone● Block the hormone from attaching to cancer cells
● Alter the hormone so it doesn't work like it should
Hormone therapy can be used to:
● Treat cancer Hormone therapy can lessen the chance that cancer will return or stop or slow its growth.
● Ease cancer symptoms Hormone therapy may be used to reduce or prevent symptoms in men with prostate cancer who are not able to have surgery or radiation therapy.
Hormone therapy falls into two type broad groups, those that block the body’s ability to produce hormones and those that interfere with how hormones behave in the body.
Who receives Hormone therapy
Hormone therapy is used to treat prostate, breast cancers, Endometrial cancer and Adrenal cancer that use hormones to grow. Hormone therapy is most often used along with other cancer treatments. The types of treatment that you need depend on the type of cancer, if it has spread and how far, if it uses hormones to grow, and if you have other health problems. When used with other treatments, hormone therapy can:1) Make a tumor smaller before surgery or radiation therapy. This is called neoadjuvant therapy.
2) Lower the risk that cancer will come back after the main treatment. This is called adjuvant therapy.
3) Destroy cancer cells that have returned or spread to other parts of your body.
Type of Hormone therapy
There are several different types of hormone therapy. Here are some examples and the cancers they might be used to treat:Breast cancer
● Aromatase inhibitors (AIs), such as anastrozole, exemestane, and letrozole
● Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), such as tamoxifen and raloxifene
● Estrogen receptor antagonists, such as fulvestrant and toremifene
● Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists, such as goserelin, leuprolide, and triptorelin
● Surgery to remove the ovaries (known as an oophorectomy)
Prostate cancer
● Anti-androgens, such as apalutamide, enzalutamide, darolutamide, bicalutamide, flutamide, and nilutamide (also called androgen deprivation therapy or ADT)
● CYP17 inhibitors, such as abiraterone and ketoconazole● Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists and antagonists, such as goserelin, leuprolide, triptorelin, and degarelix
● Surgery to remove the testicles (known as an orchiectomy or surgical castration)
Endometrial (lining of the uterus or womb) cancer
● Progestins, such as medroxyprogesterone acetate or megestrol acetate
● Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), such as tamoxifen and raloxifene
● Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists, such as goserelin, and leuprolide
● Aromatase inhibitors (AIs), such as letrozole, anastrozole, and exemestane
Adrenal cancer
● Adrenolytics, such as mitotane● Estrogen receptor antagonists, such as fulvestrant and toremifene
● Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), such as tamoxifen and raloxifene
Hormone therapy side effects
Some common side effects for men who receive hormone therapy for, prostate cancer include hot flashes, loss of interest in or ability to have sex, weakened bones, diarrhea, nausea, enlarged and tender breasts, fatigue.Some common side effects for women who receive hormone therapy for breast cancer include hot flashes, vaginal dryness, loss of interest in sex, nausea, mood changes, fatigue