Fact about Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer here are certain hormones that can attach to breast cancer cells and affect their ability to multiply. The purpose of hormone therapy -- also called hormonal therapy or hormone treatment -- is to add, block, or remove hormones.

With breast cancer, the female hormones estrogen and progesterone can promote the growth of some breast cancer cells. So in these patients, hormone therapy is given to block the body's naturally occurring estrogen and fight the cancer's growth.

There are two types of hormone therapy for breast cancer.

    Drugs that inhibit estrogen and progesterone from promoting breast cancer cell growth.
    Drugs or surgery to turn off the production of hormones from the ovaries.

Do not confuse the term hormone therapy that is used for treating breast cancer patients with hormone replacement therapy that is typically used by postmenopausal women. Hormone therapy for cancer treatment stops hormones from getting to breast cancer cells. Hormone therapy for postmenopausal women without cancer -- in the past called "hormone replacement therapy" -- adds more hormones to your body to counter the effects of menopause.
Who Gets Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer ?

As part of the diagnosis process, tests are done to determine if the breast cancer cells have estrogen or progesterone receptors. If so, that means that growth of the cancer can be stimulated with these hormones. If a cancer is found to have these receptors, hormone therapy is recommended as part of the treatment plan.
What Hormone Therapy Drugs Are Used for Breast Cancer?

There are several common hormone therapy drugs used for breast cancer:

    Tamoxifen
    Fareston
    Arimidex
    Aromasin
    Femara
    Zoladex/Lupron
    Megace
    Halotestin


Breast Cancer and Tamoxifen

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer  Tamoxifen is a pill that has been used for over 30 years to treat breast cancer. It was first used in metastatic breast cancer because it slowed or stopped growth of cancer cells in the body. Tamoxifen also decreases the chance that some early-stage breast cancers will recur primarily in premenopausal women and can prevent the development of cancer in the unaffected breast.

In addition, tamoxifen may offer an alternative to watchful waiting or prophylactic (preventative) mastectomy for women at high risk for developing breast cancer.

Tamoxifen is a type of drug called a selective estrogen-receptor modulator (SERM). At the breast, it functions as an anti-estrogen. Estrogen promotes the growth of breast cancer cells and tamoxifen blocks estrogen from attaching to estrogen receptors on these cells. By doing this, it is believed that the growth of the breast cancer cells will be halted.

Tamoxifen is considered an option in the following cases:

    Treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) along with breast-sparing surgery or mastectomy.
    Adjuvant treatment of lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) to reduce the risk of developing more advanced breast cancer.
    Adjuvant treatment of breast cancer in men and women whose cancers are estrogen-receptor positive.
    Treatment of recurrent and metastatic breast cancer.
    To prevent breast cancer in women at high risk for developing the disease.

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Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer

 is one of the most frequent cancers among girls, especially in the United States. It is just a real killer illness which takes lives of an whole lot of women of ages if it goes undiagnosed.

Women who are given to breast cancer are those whom use birth control capsules, obese women, ladies who have undergone bodily hormone replacement therapy, alcoholics, childless ladies, the list goes on. Genetic or even hormonal aspects are the most significant factors on this disease.

The most common indicator of breast cancer is a lump in the bust, some sort of oozing from the nipple or an alteration within the size or contours of the breast. The most effective way of detecting it really is through mammography or do it yourself breast examination.

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer

 Ladies who have been diagnosed with this particular dreadful disease don’t need to worry too much about it now as health-related science has undergone such wonderful steps and have come up with many treatments to fight breast cancer. The most common treatments available now are medical procedures, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, bodily hormone therapy and biological therapy.

The selection of treatment is subject to what level the disease has progressed. The doctor will help you to choose the method that is suitable to your stage. Therapy can be systemic or perhaps local. Radiation and surgery fall under local treatments while chemotherapy, hormone therapy as well as biological therapy are categorized as systemic treatments.

Some times the cancer may have moved on to other parts of the body in the actual organ. Then it’s known as metastatic cancer and can reveal other kinds associated with symptoms

The most significant along with innate therapy pertaining to breast cancer depends on your meal intake. It is important to possess food that does not have much glucose in them which will aid in destroying the cancer cells that thrive on sugar. There are many people who have overcome cancer through pursuing the cancer diet.

So if you are a victim regarding breast cancer, do not despair as there are now umpteen kinds of treatments accessible and you will surely end up being cured if you get the best kind of treatment that’s best suited to you.

First diagnosis of

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer

can lead to less damage to your breast tissues, more gentle treatment and more quickly curing. That is why it’s particularly important to notice virtually any disturbing signals and also visit a doctor promptly. Here is an overview of the particular breast cancer symptoms which a woman is more prone to experience.

This condition is actually characterized by the formation of lumps in the bust. These are usually painless, but tend to be felt about touch. In addition, they sometime create a spiny feeling, even though this is not particularly common. These protuberances are hard and are usually persistent after menstruation. They can be felt inside the breast as well as in the particular underarm area.

From later stages from the development of the cancer, the sufferer can seem to be tenderness in the breast. Pain may also be existing, but the sensation may vary from dull and achy to sharp.

A change in the size and contour of the breast is yet another one of the notable breast cancers symptoms. An sloping increase in size may signal this condition. It is also not uncommon for a flattening to occur in the affected area, even though a mass cannot be felt. Sometimes an indentation can seem, again without a visible sign of a group. Some sufferers feel that they have a small place that resembles marbled under the skin. Generally speaking, if you notice any place that is distinctively diverse, you should see a medical professional.

Another one of the breast cancers symptoms is an alternation in the skin texture and also temperature. Some sufferers with an advanced phase of the condition encounter a significant change in skin of the affected area. It’s got tiny dents along with becomes reddish to be able to resemble orange peel. The area is much hotter to touch than usually.

Breast Cancer Campaign’s vision is to beat breast cancers by funding progressive world-class research to understand how breast cancer develops in Cancer Symptoms.Breast cancers may be invasive or perhaps noninvasive. Invasive means they have spread to other tissues Visit Lung Cancer Symptoms

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Side Effects of Chemotherapy and Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer - Some side effects are associated with hormonal therapy using tamoxifen. Hot flashes are the most commonly reported side effect and occur in approximately 40 percent of women on the drug. In younger women, tamoxifen may be associated with irregular menstrual periods; however, pregnancy may still be possible, so young women need to use nonhormonal contraception to avoid pregnancy during the years they take tamoxifen. Some women notice mild nausea during the first few days on tamoxifen, but this generally disappears after a few days. Some women may find it helpful to take the medication with food or to experiment with taking it at different times of the day.

Less common side effects include abdominal bloating, leg cramps, headache, and ankle swelling. Weight gain is generally not associated with tamoxifen alone but is common in women who have received chemotherapy for breast cancer and is also seen in women after menopause. It is possible that the tendency to gain weight may also be affected by such additional factors as hormonal influence and age. Studies have shown that healthy women who took tamoxifen for five years for prevention did not show a significant difference in weight gain than seen in women who took a placebo.

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer Fortunately, serious side effects from tamoxifen are rare. They include a slight increased risk of developing blood clots, but this risk is less than 1 percent and is similar to the risk reported with estrogen therapy. If a woman has a history of prior blood clots or her doctor believes she is at particularly high risk for developing blood clots, then alternative hormonal agents such as Arimidex should be considered. Because of its estrogenlike effects on the uterus, tamoxifen can be associated with ovarian cysts and, very rarely, uterine cancer.

The risk of developing cancer of the uterus for a fifty-year-old woman is 1 in 1,000; the risk of developing endometrial (uterine) cancer for a fifty-year-old woman who takes tamoxifen is 2 in 1,000. So, although the risk is double, it remains an uncommon event. Generally, endometrial cancer makes itself known by irregular vaginal bleeding, or bleeding that you don't expect and that occurs outside of normal periods. Thus, women on tamoxifen who have not previously had hysterectomies need close gynecological follow-up, and doctors recommend routine yearly exams. If a woman has symptoms such as abnormal bleeding, prompt evaluation is needed. At that time, the gynecologist may choose to do an endometrial ultrasound or biopsy. However, studies have shown that women who are not having symptoms such as abnormal bleeding do not need these tests just because they are on tamoxifen. Finally, tamoxifen can be associated with a high risk of cataracts, so doctors recommend eye exams every one to two years.

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer Side effects of anastrozole include hot flashes and joint and muscle pain. There is a slightly higher risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture with anastrozole, in contrast with the slight protective effect of tamoxifen. In addition, anastrozole is associated with a lower risk of blood clots than tamoxifen and does not appear to increase the risk of uterine cancer.

Side effects of letrozole are similar to those associated with anastrozole and include hot flashes, joint and muscle pain, and increased risk of osteoporosis.

Side effects of adjuvant chemotherapy are generally temporary. Some women may experience vein irritation, prompting them to consider an indwelling catheter, which eases the administration of the chemotherapy drug. With Adriamycin, hair loss occurs by the second to fourth week of treatment; in some individuals this may include loss of body hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes.

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Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer - Chemotherapy and Hormonal Therapy

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer - The majority of breast cancers today are diagnosed at early stages, meaning that the cancer may or may not have spread to lymph nodes, but does not involve skin or muscle. Even in early-stage breast cancer, with small tumors and no involvement of lymph nodes, adjuvant treatments may prolong life and reduce risk of recurrence. These extra treatments include hormone medications, chemotherapy, or both. You will also need to sit down with a medical oncologist to ask about the likelihood of cancer coming back outside of the breast area and about what treatments you can consider. In addition, you should ask to what extent each of these treatments may help to lower the risk of the cancer coming back, thereby helping you live longer.
Anyone who has a tumor that is estrogen or progesterone receptor-positive should strongly consider taking a hormone treatment, regardless of whether they are old or young, or pre- or postmenopausal. If a breast cancer is hormone-receptor positive (estrogen or progesterone receptors are present), then a strategy that reduces the effect of estrogen on cancer cells is recommended.
Tamoxifen is the most common agent in current use, and because doctors have over thirty years' experience with tamoxifen, the benefits as well as the possible side effects are well understood. Tamoxifen interferes with the binding of estrogen to its receptor; therefore, it has what is called an antiestrogenic effect on breast tissue and the tumor cells, but may have estrogen-like effects on the bone, lipids, and the uterus. Because of this, tamoxifen is sometimes referred to as a selective estrogen receptor modulator, or a designer estrogen. Tamoxifen can reduce the risk of cancer recurring in the treated breast, reduce the risk of cancer coming back outside of the breast in distant organs, and reduce the risk of a new cancer in the opposite breast by 50 percent.
Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer - Tamoxifen is taken orally in the form of a pill and is usually prescribed for five years. It is generally started after completion of chemotherapy and may be given at the same time as radiation.
For postmenopausal women, a new class of hormonal agents can be considered. These are aromatase inhibitors and include medications such as anas-trozole (Arimidex), letrozole (Femara), and exemestane (Aromasin). In premenopausal woman, estrogen is produced primarily by the ovaries. In postmenopausal women, once the ovaries have stopped producing estrogen, estrogen is produced by the conversion of androgens from fatty tissue using an enzyme called aromatase. Aromatase inhibitors work in postmenopausal women to reduce estrogen production so that the hormone does not have a chance to stimulate cancer growth.
Studies have compared anastrozole to tamoxifen and it appears that anas-trozole is as good, if not better, than tamoxifen, but long-term follow-up of women on these newer medications is not yet available. Side effects noted in early studies include hot flashes and joint and muscle pain. There is a slightly higher risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture with anastrozole, in contrast with the slight protective effect of tamoxifen. In addition, anastrozole is associated with a lower risk of blood clots than tamoxifen and does not appear to increase the risk of cancer of the uterus.
Tamoxifen is generally recommended for five years. This is because studies have shown that two years are better than one, five years are better than two, but ten years are not better than five. In fact, doctors see a tendency for slight worsening of prognosis after five years, possibly due to the cancer becoming resistant to tamoxifen. In addition, more years of tamoxifen is more time during which serious side effects like blood clots and endometrial cancer may develop. These two side effects in particular are seen more frequently in women over sixty.
The aromatase inhibitor letrozole has been studied in women who have completed five years of tamoxifen and then take letrozole. This strategy is associated with a 43 percent further reduction in the risk of cancer recurring or new cancer developing in the opposite breast. Side effects of letrozole are similar to anastrozole and include hot flashes, joint and muscle pain, and increased risk of osteoporosis.
Studies have recently been reported using aromatase inhibitors such as exemestane, following two to three years of tamoxifen use. This strategy was associated with fewer recurrences compared to five years of tamoxifen, although at this early stage no difference in overall survival has yet been reported.
Many questions remain unanswered. Is it better for a woman to take tamoxifen for five years and then take an aromatase inhibitor? Is it better to use tamoxifen for two to three years and then follow with the aromatase inhibitor? Is it better to start with an aromatase inhibitor in the first place? What is the optimal duration for using the aromatase inhibitors and what are the long-term side effects? Several large studies are underway that we hope will help answer these questions.

This is Part I, Read the Rest: Information About Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer, Part II and Part III.

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Shifting Paradigms In Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer - Until recently tamoxifen occupied the central stage in adjuvant (post operative) hormonal treatment of breast cancer. Tamoxifen has been the unchallenged hormonal therapy of choice for adjuvant treatment of early stage breast cancer for over two decades.

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer Things have changed now. A new group of hormonal drugs that has been introduced few years ago has almost replaced tamoxifen as the treatment of choice for early stage breast cancer. This new group of drugs known as aromatase inhibitors has been shown to be more effective than tamoxifen over and over again.

This new group of drugs however is not effective in premneopausal women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Tamoxifen still remains the hormonal treatment of choice for women with breast cancer who have hormone receptor positive early stage breast cancer.

Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer - This new group of drugs known as aromatase inhibitors acts by inhibiting an enzyme called aromatase, which is responsible for production of small amounts of estrogen in post-menopausal women. Estrogen production from the ovaries in premneopausal women is not depended on aromatase hormone, and that is the reason why this drug is not effective in premneopausal women.

Three drugs belonging to the group of aromatase inhibitors are currently FDA approved and available for treatment of breast cancer. These drugs are anastrozole (Arimidex), letrozole (Femara) and exemestane (Aromasin). All these are active drugs are generally considered to be equally effective.

Aromatase inhibitors may be useful even if a woman has already been started on tamoxifen. Aromatase inhibitors can be taken for five years after completion of five years of tamoxifen. A clinical trial (MA-17) has shown that if Femara is taken for another extra five years after completion of five years of treatment with tamoxifen, this would result in improved outcome. Other trials (ABCSG trial, ARNO trial 95, and ITA trial) have shown that it is beneficial to switch from tamoxifen to aromatase inhibitors after two to three years of treatment with tamoxifen.

Aromatase inhibitors have already shown to be superior to tamoxifen in the treatment of hormone receptor positive metastatic (cancer that has spread to distant organs) breast cancer. In this situation Femara is currently the drug of choice and tamoxifen have moved to second or third position as an option for hormonal therapy.

One thing is clear. The very foundation of tamoxifen as the hormonal treatment of choice is shaking and the aromatase inhibitors are here to stay.

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