Hormone receptor-positive breast cancer
A type of breast cancer in which the cancer cells have extra receptors on them, which can attach to the hormones oestrogen or progesterone. These hormones can help the cancer to grow.
What is hormone receptor-positive breast cancer?
If you have a hormone receptor-positive cancer, this means that the cancer cells have extra receptors (proteins) on them, which can attach to the hormones oestrogen or progesterone. These hormones can help the cancer to grow.
Read more about hormones and breast cancer.
Is it common for cancers to be hormone-receptor positive?
Yes. About 3 in every 4 breast cancers are oestrogen receptor positive (ER+).
How are hormone receptor-positive cancers treated?
Surgery to remove the tumour is usually the first treatment for breast cancer, if it is possible.
Read more about surgery for breast cancer.
Treatment after surgery
You may have more treatment after surgery to try to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back. For example:
Radiotherapy can help to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back.
Read more about radiotherapy.
If your cancer cells are high grade (fast growing) or were found in the lymph nodes, or if your tumour was very large, you might have chemotherapy to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back.
Read more about chemotherapy.
If your cancer has hormone receptors that help the cancer to grow (oestrogen-receptor positive cancer), you may have hormone therapy drugs. These can work well to stop the hormones from helping the cancer to grow.
Read more about hormone therapy.
If your cancer has a high number of HER2 protein receptors, you might have targeted therapies (for example, trastuzumab).
Read more about targeted therapies.
Talk to a Cancer Nurse
Support Line
Our Daffodil Centres
