Hormones are substances that occur naturally in the body. Some hormones can stimulate certain cancers to grow – for example, oestrogen and breast cancer. Hormone therapy uses hormones made in a laboratory (synthetic hormones) to block the effect of these natural hormones that are helping the cancer to grow.
If tests show that the cancer of unknown primary (CUP) may have started as a cancer that is hormone dependent, your doctor might suggest hormone therapy. The treatment may be given as tablets or injections. It is sometimes used with other treatments.
For more on this, see our general section on Hormone therapy.
Side effects of hormone therapy
The side effects of hormone therapy will vary depending on the hormones you are given.
General side effects include:
- tiredness
- nausea
- appetite changes
- weight gain
- mood changes
- pain in the joints
- thinning of the bones (osteoporosis)
- hot flushes
- erection problems.
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Key resource
Download a PDF booklet on this topic.
More resources
Prof Linda Mileshkin, Medical Oncologist, Clinical Researcher, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Christine Bradfield, Consumer; Cindy Bryant, Consumer; Dr Maria Cigolini, Head, Department of Palliative Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and Clinical Lecturer, The University of Sydney, NSW; Mary Duffy, Advanced Practice Nurse and Nurse Coordinator, Lung Service, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Karen Hall, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council SA; Dr Andrew Oar, Radiation Oncologist, Icon Cancer Centre, Gold Coast University Hospital, QLD; Dr Siobhan O’Neill, Medical Oncologist, Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre, NSW; Prof Penelope Schofield, Department of Psychological Sciences and the Iverson Health Innovation Research Institute, Swinburne University of Technology, and Head, Behavioural Science in Cancer, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Frank Stoss, Consumer.
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