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Hormonal therapy is administration of hormones for treatment of cancer.

Certain body tissues, such as breast and prostate, require hormones to develop. When cancer originates in these tissues, hormones actually work as the growth promoting agents for these types of cancers. If we can, by some means, block the hormonal use of the these cancer cells, this becomes a disadvantage to the cancer cells, and they fail to grow or die. By this mechanism it is possible to slow down, or even stop, the growth of cancer cells.

Most commonly hormonal agents are used in the treatment of breast cancer and prostate cancer. Hormonal agents are sometimes used in the treatment of endometrial cancer. Breast cancer may be classified in to hormone receptor positive breast cancer and hormone receptor negative breast cancer based on the presence of the receptors for hormonal agents in the cancer cells. When the hormonal receptors are present, the tumor is presumed to be depended on the estrogen hormone, and hormone-blocking agents like tamoxifen, anastrazole (arimidex) are effective in the treatment. When the hormone receptors are negative in breast cancer, hormonal therapy in not usually effective.

In case of prostate cancer, most of the time the cancer is depended on the testosterone hormone, hence blocking the testosterone using agents like leuprolide acetate (lepron depot). With the use of this hormonal agent it may be possible to halt the progress of prostate cancer for many years. When the cancer progresses, an additional hormonal agent like bicalutamide (casodex) often gives good results when combined with leuprolide acetate (lepron depot).

Hormones can be administered orally, intravenously, or intramuscularly. Tamoxifen, and anastrazole that are used in breast cancer are oral forms, where as leuprolide acetate (lepron depot) used prostate cancer is an injection. Surgery may also be used to prevent the body from producing hormones. For example, a patient with prostate cancer may have an orchiectomy to prevent the production of testosterone.

Some types of cancer may originate from organs that require hormones to develop, but they may not be treated with hormonal therapy. A sample of the tumor can be sent to a special lab to determine if hormonal therapy is likely to be effective. You can read more about the hormonal therapy of breast cancer at this site. Hormonal therapy of breast cancer.