Can hormone therapy shrink a large breast tumor at 79?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have a patient who is female, 79 years old, and has a large breast tumor. Rather than giving chemotherapy, I personally would like her to try out hormone therapy. Would hormone therapy shrink a large tumor? Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Hormone therapy will shrink the hormone-sensitive mass, but by how much is difficult to predict. It is really helpful if the patient has a poor performance status and significant comorbidities.

I hope this information helps you.

Feel free to reach out in case of further queries.

Thank you.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Your patient is 79 years old. Comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, ischemic heart diseases, renal, or hepatic diseases may exist. Performance status means whether your patient is fully active as a normal person or sick, and her routine physical activities are limited or she is bedridden.

All these will affect the aggressiveness of the treatment. Even if none of the above is present in your patient, she may still not tolerate aggressive chemotherapy because of her age. So, hormone therapy is a valid option for such patients who are hormone-positive.

I hope this information helps you.

Feel free to reach out in case of further queries.

Thank you.