What is the relationship between breast cancer and endocrine hormones? The mammary gland is an organ closely related to endocrine hormones, and is subject to the action of a variety of endocrine hormones, such as estrogen, progesterone, prolactin, growth hormone, corticosterone, thyroxine and so on, in order to maintain the growth and development of the mammary gland and the function of lactation. Hormones have a very important role in the development of breast cancer. Estrone and estradiol (E2) in estrogen have a direct relationship to the development of breast cancer, estriol and progesterone are thought to have a protective effect, while prolactin has a promotional role in the development of breast cancer, but the link between the various factors is not yet fully understood. Studies have shown that estrogen binds to and activates the estrogen receptor (ER), which can lead to proliferation of normal breast epithelial cells, and proliferating cells are more sensitive to carcinogens than quiescent cells, suggesting that estrogen is a tumor promoter that stimulates the growth and proliferation of breast cancer cells in vivo. Therefore, medications that can reduce the level of E2 or block the effect of E2 on breast cancer cells have a therapeutic effect on breast cancer. The effect of endocrine therapy mainly depends on the sensitivity of the tumor to estrogen and the degree of reducing estrogen level after treatment. Advantages of endocrine therapy for breast cancer First of all, it is necessary to recognize that endocrine therapy has a clear mechanism of action, which mainly blocks the stimulating effect of hormone on tumor growth and has no obvious effect on normal cells, and its efficacy has been proved to be no less than that of chemotherapy through many years of practice. The remission of the tumor is significantly prolonged, up to several years. Endocrine therapy has significantly reduced toxic side effects compared with chemotherapeutic drugs. As we all know, chemotherapy has great side effects on patients, such as hair loss, strong nausea and vomiting, reduction of white blood cells and platelets and a series of other symptoms; therefore, patients need to endure great pain when they receive chemotherapy, and sometimes they need to be hospitalized, and it is difficult for them to insist on continuing the treatment, so that they cannot achieve the therapeutic purpose and may miss the best time of treatment. Endocrine therapy has mild toxic side effects, fewer occurrences, does not require hospitalization, and the patient’s quality of life is higher during the treatment period, so the patient can easily accept this kind of treatment, and can adhere to the long-term treatment and medication, so that the efficacy of the endocrine therapy can be most fully realized. Therefore, the remission period of patients with effective endocrine therapy is significantly longer than that of patients with effective chemotherapy, and may even be as long as half a year, one year or even several years. 2.Misunderstanding of endocrine therapy for breast cancer Some statistics show that endocrine therapy has been widely used in the treatment of breast cancer in Europe and America, while there is still a certain gap between endocrine therapy and foreign countries in our country, and there is still a misunderstanding in the knowledge and use of drugs, which does not fully recognize the importance of endocrine therapy. First of all, in terms of efficacy, endocrine therapy is not worse than chemotherapy. However, some people are skeptical about the anti-cancer treatment of “taking a pill every day”. In fact, it has been proved through long-term practice that endocrine therapy for breast cancer is a very important treatment means, and as long as the choice is appropriate, its efficiency and degree of remission are comparable with chemotherapy. Some people wrongly think that the serious reaction of chemotherapy is the “strong effect of drug”, which is very wrong, the toxic side effects that cannot be avoided by the drug itself cannot reflect the efficacy of the drug. In general, endocrine therapy can be effective 2-3 months after the start of treatment, and the onset of effect is not slower than that of chemotherapy. And the remission time for the tumor is also longer. In terms of drug safety, the toxic side effects of endocrine therapy are significantly reduced compared with chemotherapy, and there will be no serious toxic side effects like chemotherapy (such as hair loss, severe nausea and vomiting, decrease in white blood cells, etc.), and most of the patients can accept and adhere to the treatment for a long period of time, so that the therapeutic efficacy of the drugs can be brought into full play, the recurrence of tumors and metastasis of the tumors can be reduced, the patients’ life span can be extended, and the quality of life of the patients can be obviously improved in the process of treatment, and the patients’ life quality will not be affected. The treatment process can significantly improve the quality of life of patients and will not affect their normal life. In today’s world, with the increasing demand for quality of life, endocrine therapy will become an important means of breast cancer treatment. The development of endocrine therapy for breast cancer In the 1970s, “triamcinolone acetonide” can be said to be a breakthrough drug, which belongs to the “anti-estrogen class”, with less toxic side effects than previous drugs, and it is also the most commonly used endocrine therapy drug for breast cancer. Nowadays, a new class of endocrine therapeutic drugs, “aromatase inhibitors”, has been successfully developed and applied in clinical treatment, with clear therapeutic effects, which is considered as a new trend in endocrine treatment of breast cancer, and it has brought new treatment options to doctors and patients. Flon” (Letrozole) is one of the representative drugs, which is used in the treatment of postmenopausal breast cancer, receptor-positive or unknown. After rigorous research and comparison, Flon has surpassed triamcinolone in terms of efficacy, such as tumor remission and stopping tumor progression, and will become the new standard endocrine treatment for breast cancer. 4.What are the side effects of endocrine therapy for breast cancer? The side effects of endocrine therapy are very small, most patients have no obvious discomfort after taking it, and the main side effects of triamcinolone acetonide, which is commonly used at present, are: loss of appetite, nausea, a small number of vomiting, diarrhea, headache, vertigo, depression, facial flushing, skin rash, a very small number of patients can have reduction of white blood cells and platelets, but it is generally not serious, and individual patients may have liver function abnormality; pregnancy and lactation are prohibited for women. Prohibited. The side effects of endocrine therapy drugs are relatively low, generally not serious, and can be tolerated by the majority of patients. 5.What should breast cancer patients pay attention to when receiving endocrine therapy? Although endocrine therapy has clear therapeutic effect, low toxicity and side effects, and the quality of life of patients during treatment is high, it should not be used arbitrarily, and should follow the doctor’s instruction and use reasonable dosage correctly. Once the treatment is started, it should be adhered to until the end and not abandoned halfway, otherwise the best time for treatment may be lost and the efficacy of the treatment will be affected. Regular review to evaluate the effect of treatment is very important, and any discomfort during treatment should be promptly reported to one’s attending physician.