Advanced breast cancer: Additive hormonal therapy

Increased response rates with nonhormonal combination chemotherapy have led many oncologists to deprecate the use of hormonal therapy in the management of advanced breast cancer. The estrogen and progesterone receptor assay, on the one hand, has restimulated the enthusiasm for hormonal therapy when positive, but conversely when negative suggests that their use is precluded from further consideration. The author's thoughts on the continuing employment of additive hormonal therapy for almost all patients, either singly or in combination with other hormonal and nonhormonal drugs, with minimal restrictions imposed by hormonal assays or sites of disease will be presented. A short review of estrogens, androgens, progestins, testololactone (Teslac), and corticosteroids will be offered. The ease of administration of hormones and the increase in recurrent disease survival in responders compared with nonhormonal therapy strongly indicate that additive hormonal therapy still has a major role in the management of the advanced breast cancer patient.