Hormone therapy for cancer

Hormone therapy helps treat cancer by altering the way your hormones feed cancer cells. Certain cancers use your body’s natural hormones to grow and spread. Hormone therapy can stop or slow the cancer cell’s growth. It also helps ease cancer symptoms.

Also called endocrine therapy, hormone therapy is often given in combination with other treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

How does hormone therapy work?

Your body produces hormones that affect everything from your metabolism to your mood. Some cancers use hormones – such as estrogen and progesterone – to grow and spread in the body. These cancers are known to be hormone sensitive.

Hormone therapy can stop or slow the growth of a hormone-sensitive cancer by targeting the hormone source.

Along with other cancer treatments, hormone therapy helps:

• Reduce the chance cancer will return
• Shrink cancer cells before surgery or radiation therapy
• Slow or stop the growth of cancer that has spread to other parts of the body
• Decrease the risk of cancer developing in other parts of the body

Hormone therapy also helps ease or reduce cancer symptoms – like a painful tumor – when other treatments like radiation therapy or surgery aren't possible.

Hormone therapy types

The type of hormone therapy depends on the type of cancer and if it's spread to other parts of your body. Our dedicated cancer care team will work closely with you to customize a treatment plan that works best for you.

Hormone therapy includes three types of treatment methods to disrupt the growth of hormone-fueled cancer cells:

• Synthetic hormones that prevent the body from producing natural hormones
• Medications that stop cancer cells from using hormones to grow
• Surgery to remove the gland that makes the hormone

Hormone therapy drugs may involve taking oral medications or injections of hormones. Hormone therapy surgery may include removing the ovaries or testicles.

What types of cancer can hormone therapy treat?

When a cancer type is hormone sensitive, it can be treated with hormone therapy. This includes cancers that grow and spread from the hormones estrogen or progesterone:

• Breast cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Prostate cancer
• Uterine cancer

Tests can show if a cancer cell is sensitive to hormones and would respond to hormone therapy.

Side effects of hormone therapy

Hormone therapy may involve some risks – much like other cancer treatments. Disrupting your hormonal balance may lead to unwanted side effects, depending on your cancer and treatment type.

Common side effects of hormone therapy include:

• Fatigue
• Mood changes
• Hot flashes
• Weight gain
• Diarrhea
• Decreased bone density

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