Certain cancers are fueled by hormones, causing them to grow and spread more quickly. In these cases, hormone therapy may be used to block or interfere with hormone production in order to slow or stop the cancer from spreading.
Hormone therapy is commonly used to treat breast cancer, prostate cancer and some gynecologic cancers. Although it is most often used following treatment to help reduce the chances of cancer returning or spreading, there are times it might be used to shrink cancer tumors prior to surgery (called neoadjuvant therapy).
Unlike local treatments, such as surgery and radiation therapy, which affect only a certain part of the body, hormone therapy is considered a systemic treatment. This is because the drugs used in hormone therapy travel throughout the body to target and find the hormones.
Hormone therapy may be used in addition to other cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. The types of treatment you are prescribed are based on the type of cancer and the specific hormone the cancer uses to grow.
How Hormone Therapy Works
Hormones are naturally occurring substances that stimulate the growth of hormone-sensitive tissues, such as the breast or prostate gland. Hormone therapy drugs deprive cancer cells of the hormones they need to grow.
Hormone therapy falls into two broad groups:
- Hormone therapies that block the body’s ability to produce hormones
- Hormone therapies that interfere with how hormones behave in the body
Hormone therapy can be administered in a few different ways:
- Oral hormone therapy. Hormone therapy comes in pills or a liquid that you swallow.
- Injected hormone therapy. The hormone therapy is given by a shot in a muscle in your arm, thigh, or hip, or right under the skin in the fatty part of your arm, leg, or belly.
- Surgical ablation. You may have surgery to remove organs that produce hormones. In women, the ovaries are removed. In men, the testicles are removed (orchiectomy). This, however, is not as common as hormone therapy with medications.
Your NYOH oncologist will determine the best method for your specific type of cancer.
