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Encyclopedia of Cancer pp 1–6Cite as

Endocrine Therapy in Breast Cancer

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Synonyms

Breast cancer antiestrogen therapy; Breast cancer hormonal therapy; Breast cancer hormone therapy

Definition

Endocrine therapy in breast cancer is one of the earliest targeted therapy developed for cancer and is used to treat estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-positive breast tumors that depend on estrogens for their growth. It works by blocking estrogen signaling through two main modalities: (1) targeting the ERα protein and (2) depriving cancer cells of estrogen supply either by ovarian suppression in premenopausal women or by inhibition of extraovarian estrogen production in postmenopausal women. Endocrine therapy is currently used both in early-stage as well as in advanced/metastatic breast cancer.

Characteristics

ERα-positive (ERα+) breast cancer accounts for approximately 70 % of all breast cancers and is typically characterized by positivity for progesterone receptor (PgR) expression, less frequent amplification/overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Medicine, Unit of Experimental Oncology, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Claudia Fumarola

Authors
  1. Claudia Fumarola
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claudia Fumarola .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Fumarola, C. (2014). Endocrine Therapy in Breast Cancer. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7152-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_7152-5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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