The role of LH-RH analogues in the adjuvant and palliative treatment of breast cancer.
Ovarian ablation has a long-standing history in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. At the end of the past century, several reports appeared on the beneficial effect of surgical removal of the ovaries in premenopausal women with advanced breast cancer. Subsequently, this treatment became the standard systemic hormone therapy for such patients. However, the disadvantage is that only a minority of patients respond, and the remainder suffer unnecessary treatment morbidity. In a random premenopausal patient population, oophorectomy produced an average 33% objective response rate. In the search for alternatives, analogues of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) have been thoroughly investigated in pre- and postmenopausal women. The results obtained have established a place for LH-RH agonists in the treatment of premenopausal women with metastatic breast cancer. In addition, these substances have replaced oophorectomy where indicated in the adjuvant hormonal treatment of premenopausal breast cancer.
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Klinik und Poliklinik für Innere Medizin II (Onkologie, Hämatologie, Endokrinologie, Stoffwechselerkrankungen), Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Germany.
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D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D005260:Female; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D010052:Ovariectomy; D010166:Palliative Care
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone