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Adjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer: Hormonal Therapy

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Breast Disease

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Abstract

Approximately two-thirds of patients diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer have hormone-sensitive disease (estrogen receptor [ER]-positive and/or progesterone receptor [PR]-positive), and as a result, adjuvant endocrine therapy plays a critical role in reducing the risk of recurrence and improving survival. Data generated from clinical trials over the last 30 years has definitively demonstrated the positive impact of adjuvant endocrine therapy, first with the use of tamoxifen and more recently with the use of aromatase inhibitors either as monotherapy or in sequence with tamoxifen. Many issues need to be understood when considering the optimal approach for adjuvant endocrine therapy in an individual patient, both in terms of optimizing risk reduction and maintaining quality of life. The following discussion will summarize the current state of the art in 2013 and also highlight unresolved research issues of clinical importance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medicine – Division of Hematology/Oncology, Maggie Daley Center for Women’s Cancer Care, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 676 North St. Clair, Suite 850, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    William J. Gradishar MD

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  1. William J. Gradishar MD
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Correspondence to William J. Gradishar MD .

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  1. Advocate Center for Breast Health, Advocate Cancer Institute, Oak Lawn, Illinois, USA

    Adam I. Riker

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Gradishar, W.J. (2015). Adjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer: Hormonal Therapy. In: Riker, A. (eds) Breast Disease. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1145-5_24

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1145-5_24

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