0
Breast Cancer: Is the ER (estrogen receptor) something genetic or is it variable based on medication (ie. chemotherapy)?
- 1 people answered
1 Vote
1 Contributor
1590 Views 
0 Saved
1 Vote 1 Contributor1590 Views 0 SavedYou might also be interested in
Because they are derived from normal cells that have hormone receptors and the normal cells must respond to hormones in order to fulfil their function. A high proportion of breast cancers are Estrogen Receptor Positive. This means they have a large number of estrogen receptors, indicating that estro....
Two tests may be better than one. That’s the conclusion of researchers in a new study that looked at the reliability of both ultrasounds and mammograms. Where mammography is available, ultrasound should be seen as a supplemental test for women with dense breasts who do not meet high-risk criteria....
Various techniques have been tried by patients and recommended by physicians to prevent, lessen the severity or treat chemotherapy side effects such as peripheral neuropathy. There is no "one-size-fits-all" regimen that works for everyone. Much of the treatment is based on trial and error and find....
Mahima Chaudhary
Receptors are proteins in or on cells that can attach to certain substances in the blood. Normal breast cells and some breast cancer cells have receptors that attach to the hormones estrogen and progesterone, and depend on these hormones to grow.
The breast tissue estrogen receptor is both genetic and variable in the presence of chemotherapy and other medications.
Breast cancer cells may have one, both, or none of these receptors.
ER-positive: Breast cancers that have estrogen receptors are called ER-positive (or ER+) cancers.
PR-positive: Breast cancers with progesterone receptors are called PR-positive (or PR+) cancers.
Keeping these receptors from attaching to the hormones can help keep the cancer from growing and spreading. There are drugs that can be used to do this.
Knowing the hormone receptor status of your cancer helps doctors decide how to treat it. If your cancer has one or both of these hormone receptors, hormone therapy drugs can be used to either lower estrogen levels or stop estrogen from acting on breast cancer cells. This kind of treatment is helpful for hormone receptor-positive breast cancers, but it doesn’t work on tumors that are hormone receptor-negative (both ER- and PR-negative).