Determining your tumor’s status is a high priority after abreast biopsyorbreast-cancer surgery(mastectomy or lumpectomy).
About 70% of breast cancers are hormone receptor-positive.
Your hormone receptor status should appear onyour pathology report after biopsy or surgery.
Verywell / Gary Ferster
Receptors will be retested if you ever have arecurrenceormetastasesas well, as your status can change.
Hormones and receptors go together kind of like a lock and key.
The treatment is the same either way.
Breast cancers that don’t have any of these receptors are calledtriple-negative.
Even if the number is a low one, the tumor may effectively be treated withhormone therapy.
Before menopause, the ovaries produce the greatest amount of estrogen.
To prevent this estrogen from fueling your cancer cells, medications calledselective estrogen receptor modulatorsare used.
These drugs, such astamoxifen,bind to the estrogen receptor so that estrogen can’t get to it.
After menopause, the situation is different because you have a lot less estrogen in the body.
Medications calledaromatase inhibitorscan block this enzyme so your body can’t produce estrogen, thus starving the tumor.
Three aromatase inhibitorsare available:
These drugs may sometimes be used in pre-menopausal women after ovarian suppression therapy.
This strategy appears to give some a better survival advantage.
Other hormonal therapies may be used at times, too.
In addition, otherhormonal therapies for metastatic breast cancermay be considered for some people.
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