Hormone Therapy as a cancer treatment may involve taking medicines
that block the activity of the hormone or stop the body from
making the hormone. Hormone Therapy may involve surgically
removing a gland that is making the hormones.
Some cancers use
hormones to grow or develop. This means the cancer is hormone
sensitive or hormone dependent. Hormone Therapy for cancer uses
medicines to block or lower the amount of hormones in the body to
stop or slow down the growth of cancer.
Hormone Therapy stops
hormones being made or prevents hormones from making cancer cells
grow and divide. It does not work for all cancers.
Cancers
that can be hormone sensitive include:
Hormone Therapy is most often used to treat breast and prostate
cancers, where its role is well established through numerous
clinical trials. Meanwhile, research is ongoing to study the
potential efficacy of hormonal manipulation in treating other
cancer types. Hormone Therapy can be given in a few ways:
- Oral medication : some therapies are taken by
mouth.
- Injection : some therapies are given by an
injection under the skin (subcutaneous) or in the muscle
(intramuscular).
- Surgical intervention: for example,removal
of the ovaries in women or testicles in men, results in
decreased production of certain hormones.
Eg:Tamoxifen, Letrozole, Bicalutamide, Degarelix,
Leuprolide.