hematology and oncology
Systemic Cancer Therapy
Endocrine Therapy
Endocrine therapy uses agonists or antagonists to influence the course of cancer. It may be used alone or combined with other therapies. Endocrine therapy is particularly useful in prostate cancer, which grows in response to androgens. Other cancers with hormone receptors, such as breast and endometrial cancers, can be controlled by endocrine therapy such asestrogenreceptor binding (tamoxifen). Other endocrine therapies suppress the conversion of androgens toestrogensby aromatase (letrozole) or inhibit the synthesis of adrenal androgens (abiraterone). The most common use of endocrine therapy is in breast cancer.Tamoxifenandraloxifeneare typically given for several years after breast cancer surgery (adjuvant therapy) and substantially reduce risk of cancer recurrence. All hormone blockers cause symptoms related to hormone deficiency, including hot flashes, and the androgen antagonists also induce a metabolic syndrome that increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease. 