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.
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:
