What is Endocrine Therapy?

Update Date: 2024-05-20 Source: Network

Clinically, endocrine therapy is further divided into surgical treatment, radiotherapy, and pharmacological treatment. Surgical treatment involves the surgical removal of endocrine glands such as ovaries, adrenal glands, and the hypothalamus. Radiotherapy refers to the use of radiation to destroy endocrine glands. Pharmacological treatment involves the supplementation of certain hormones (replacement therapy), the elimination of certain hormones with drugs (elimination therapy), and the neutralization of the effects of certain hormones with other drugs (resistance therapy). Endocrine therapy is also known as hormone therapy.

Hormones are a class of chemical substances produced by endocrine cells in the body. They circulate throughout the body via the bloodstream and exert specific effects on particular tissues or cells (known as target tissues or target cells). Their main functions include:

1. Regulating the metabolic processes of the body;

2. Regulating the volume and composition of extracellular fluid to maintain dynamic homeostasis of physicochemical factors within the body;

3. Regulating and controlling the growth, development, and reproductive functions of the body;

4. Enhancing the body's stress response, enabling it to resist harmful stimuli and adapt to rapid environmental changes.

Recognizing that the occurrence and development of some tumors are related to hormonal imbalances, certain hormones or anti-hormonal substances can be used in treatment to alter the conditions necessary for tumor growth, thereby inhibiting its development. Since hormones can selectively target corresponding tumor tissues without suppressing normal tissues, they do not cause bone marrow suppression.

Some commonly used hormonal treatment protocols in clinical practice include:

1. Using thyroxine to suppress the secretion of thyrotropin in the treatment of thyroid cancer;

2. Using sex hormones (including estrogens, progestins, and androgens) and anti-sex hormone drugs (such as tamoxifen) in the treatment of breast cancer;

3. Combining adrenocortical hormones with chemotherapy to enhance its effectiveness and reduce side effects.