Read article About hormone therapy for womb cancer
This page is about treating womb cancer with hormone therapies. There is information about
Hormone therapy for womb cancer
Hormones occur naturally in the body. They control the growth and activity of our cells. The female sex hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, can affect growth of the cells in the womb lining. Progesterone treatment can shrink larger womb cancers or cancers that have come back. Up to 25 out of every 100 advanced womb cancers (25%) respond well to progesterone.
Doctors use progesterone mainly to treat stage 3 and 4 womb cancers, particularly if the cancer has spread to the lungs. You take progesterone as a tablet. The main side effects of progesterone therapy are water retention and weight gain, breast discomfort, tiredness, feeling sick and loss of sex drive.
Most people only have one or two of these side effects. If you have side effects, tell your nurse or doctor. They may be able to help.
You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the Treating womb cancer section.
Hormones are substances that occur naturally in the body. They control the growth and activity of our cells. The female sex hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, can affect growth of the cells in the womb lining.
A review of published medical research in 2008 reported that hormone therapy with progesterone does not help to stop womb cancer coming back in women with newly diagnosed early stage womb cancer. You can read this review of progesterone treatment for early womb cancer in the Cochrane Library. It was written for researchers and specialists so it is not in plain English and contains some cancer statistics.
Progesterone treatment can shrink larger womb cancers or cancers that have come back. Up to 25 out of every 100 advanced womb cancers (25%) respond well to progesterone. Progesterone is used mainly to treat stage 3 and 4 womb cancers, particularly if the cancer has spread to the lungs. You take progesterone as a tablet. The most commonly used types of progesterone are called medroxyprogesterone acetate (Provera) and megestrol (Megace). The hormone goes into the bloodstream, travels around the body and slows the growth of womb cancer cells.
A Cochrane review in 2010 looked at whether hormone therapy helped women with advanced womb cancer live longer. They found that the trials so far have not been able to show that it does. They recommend that women only have hormone therapy to help relieve symptoms. They also recommend that more research is carried out to find out how well hormone treatment works in improving women’s quality of life with advanced womb cancer.
The main side effects associated with progesterone therapy for womb cancer are
- Water retention
- Weight gain (caused by the water retention)
- Breast discomfort
- Tiredness
- Feeling sick
- Loss of desire for sex
Most people only have one or two of these side effects. If you have side effects, tell your nurse or doctor. They may be able to help.
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