Is hormonal therapy the same as hormone replacement therapy?
Endocrine or hormonal therapy is not the same as hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Hormonal therapies work by stopping oestrogen from reaching the cancer cells, they do this either by reducing the levels of oestrogen in the body or by blocking the effect of oestrogen on the cancer cells. Hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, is given to healthy women to increase oestrogen in the body following the menopause, in order to reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes and to stop the development of osteoporosis.
