Hormonal therapy
What is hormonal therapy?
Hormonal therapy is a drug, usually in the form of a tablet, that changes the level of female hormones in the body or stops cells from being affected by hormones. There are several different types of hormonal therapy. In women with invasive breast cancer, hormonal therapies are used to stop the cancer cells from growing. They are only used in women who have hormone receptors on their cancer cells.
Hormonal therapies might be effective in women with DCIS. However, the long-term benefits and side effects of hormonal therapy for women with DCIS are not yet known. Clinical trials are continuing to test hormonal therapies for treating DCIS.
You might be offered hormonal therapy to treat your DCIS. This will depend on whether you have hormone receptors on your DCIS cells. It’s important to weigh up the benefits and side effects of hormonal therapy for your situation. Ask your doctors about the side effects of hormone therapy.
