Hormonal therapies
Hormonal therapies are treatments for women who have hormone receptors on their breast cancer cells.
Hormonal therapies are treatments for women who have hormone receptors on their breast cancer cells.Hormonal therapies lower the level of female hormones in the body or change the way the body responds to female hormones.
- For women with early breast cancer, hormonal therapies reduce the risk of breast cancer coming back (in the breasts and in other parts of the body). Some hormonal therapies have also been shown to increase the chance of survival for women with breast cancer.
- For women with metastatic breast cancer, hormonal therapies can slow or stop the growth of metastatic breast cancers and can relieve symptoms. For some people, hormonal therapies can make the cancer smaller. The benefits of treatment with hormonal therapies for women with metastatic breast cancer can last for some time – sometimes for years.
Hormonal therapies used to treat breast cancer are not the same as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) used to manage symptoms of menopause.