Anti-hormones / PrinciplesPrinciples of anti-hormone chemotherapy
- some tumours are dependent on steroid hormones for their growth
- most steroid-sensitive cancers have specific receptors:
- prednisone-sensitive lymphomas
- androgen-sensitive prostate cancers
- estrogen-sensitive breast cancers
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reducing steroid hormone concentrations can be effective treatment
- in the case of prostate cancer, this approach is called androgen deprivation therapy --- or ADT
- all drugs that work by decreasing testosterone concentrations cause impotence, decreased libido, hot flushes, muscle wasting and decreases in bone density
- don't forget about corticosteroids in this context --- these drugs are useful in the treatment of acute leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and other hematologic malignancies, as well as advanced breast cancer
- in the case of prostate cancer, this approach is called androgen deprivation therapy --- or ADT
- can biopsy for steroid receptor content and predict the benefits of a particular therapy