0
Why are hormones so significant in their relation to breast cancer?
- 1 people answered
0 Vote
1 Contributor
2293 Views 
0 Saved
0 Vote 1 Contributor2293 Views 0 SavedYou might also be interested in
Don’t worry, most breast cysts can be very small and will only show up on ultrasound scans, and these are termed microcysts. About 25% of breast cysts enlarge gradually into ‘big-enough’ cysts to become a palpable breast lump. Breast cysts are extremely common, and occur in as many as one third of ....
The risk is so low that it is impossible to read using tables of published health data and statistics. Children do get cancer, but very rarely breast cancer. Statistics will often group women aged 15–39 as “young women” but this is very misleading as the bump in cases begins in women over 20, or eve....
A new treatment for breast cancer has completely eradicated tumours in just 11 days. A team of researchers in the UK claims the new two-pronged technique could spare thousands of women from gruelling chemotherapy. Doctors combined two existing cancer drugs - Tyverb and Herceptin – and gave them t....
Aditya Bhutani
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 estrogen is helping to feed their growth.
Receptors are proteins in or on certain cells that can attach to certain substances, such as hormones, that circulate in the blood. Normal breast cells and some breast cancer cells contain receptors that attach to estrogen and progesterone. These 2 hormones often fuel the growth of breast cancer cells.
Breast cancer that involves estrogen and progesterone receptors is likely to respond to treatments known as “endocrine therapies”. In medicine, drugs such as Tamoxifen are used to block the estrogen receptors and help prevent the cancer from recurring. In post-menopausal women, drugs called aromatase inhibitors may be more beneficial to help stop production of estrogen.