Hormonal therapy as a treatment for secondary bone cancer

Hormonal therapies are often used to treat secondary cancers in the bone which have spread from primary cancers in the breast or prostate gland.

Hormones are substances that occur naturally in the body. They control the activity and growth of normal cells. However, certain hormones can also trigger breast cancer or prostate cancer cells to divide and grow.

Hormonal therapies work by lowering the levels of particular hormones in the body, or by preventing hormones from being taken up by the cancer cells. This can slow down or stop the growth of the cancer cells in the bone. Often, hormonal therapies can shrink the cancer and reduce, or get rid of, symptoms such as bone pain.

There are many different types of hormonal therapy and they work in slightly different ways. Sometimes two different types of hormonal therapy may be given together. Hormonal therapy is given as tablets or injections.

Side effects

Hormonal therapy can cause side effects for some people, which can include hot flushes and sweats in both men and women. CancerBACUP has a facsheet on controlling menopausal symptoms of cancer treatments with information on reducing hot flushes and sweats.

Although the effects can be quite mild for many people, for others they may be quite severe. It is important to discuss the possible effects with your doctor before you start treatment. CancerBACUP has sections on all the commonly used hormonal drugs.