Hormone therapy
Hormone therapy slows or stops the growth of cancers that need hormones to grow — chiefly hormone receptor–positive breast cancer and prostate cancer. It works in two ways: by reducing the body's production of a hormone, or by interfering with how that hormone acts on cancer cells. The drugs are given as tablets or injections; a similar effect can also be achieved surgically, by removing the hormone-producing organs. Hormone therapy is often combined with surgery, radiotherapy, or other systemic treatment — before local treatment to shrink a tumour, or afterwards to lower the risk of recurrence. Because it alters the body's hormone balance, it can cause side effects such as hot flashes, bone weakening, and sexual problems.
Tamoxifen
Tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) used in hormone receptor–positive breast cancer — a feature of about 80% of breast cancer diagnoses. The drug binds to estrogen receptors in cancer cells and bl…
Aromatase inhibitors
Aromatase inhibitors — anastrozole, letrozole, and exemestane — lower the amount of estrogen in the body by blocking aromatase, the enzyme the body uses to make estrogen in the ovaries and other tissues. They are used ma…
Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)
Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) lowers the level of androgens — male sex hormones, mainly testosterone — or blocks their action, because prostate cancer cells need androgens to grow. Almost all of the body's testoster…
GnRH analogs (agonists and antagonists)
GnRH (also called LHRH) analogs act on the pituitary gland to shut down sex-hormone production — testosterone in men and estrogen in premenopausal women. Agonists (leuprolide, goserelin, triptorelin), given as injections…