Published in

MDPI, Cancers, 3(14), p. 759, 2022

DOI: 10.3390/cancers14030759

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Hormonal Therapy for Gynecological Cancers: How Far Has Science Progressed toward Clinical Applications?

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Postprint: archiving allowed
Green circle
Published version: archiving allowed
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

In recent years, hormone therapy has been shown to be a remarkable treatment option for cancer. Hormone treatment for gynecological cancers involves the use of medications that reduce the level of hormones or inhibit their biological activity, thereby stopping or slowing cancer growth. Hormone treatment works by preventing hormones from causing cancer cells to multiply. Aromatase inhibitors, anti-estrogens, progestin, estrogen receptor (ER) antagonists, GnRH agonists, and progestogen are effectively used as therapeutics for vulvar cancer, cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, uterine cancer, and ovarian cancer. Hormone replacement therapy has a high success rate. In particular, progestogen and estrogen replacement are associated with a decreased incidence of gynecological cancers in women infected with human papillomavirus (HPV). The activation of estrogen via the transcriptional functionality of ERα may either be promoted or decreased by gene products of HPV. Hormonal treatment is frequently administered to patients with hormone-sensitive recurring or metastatic gynecologic malignancies, although response rates and therapeutic outcomes are inconsistent. Therefore, this review outlines the use of hormonal therapy for gynecological cancers and identifies the current knowledge gaps.