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Virginia Oncology Associates

Virginia Oncology Associates

Breast Cancer

Cancer Center » Breast Cancer » Hormone Status

Hormone Status in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer treatment plans are developed based on the type and stage of your breast cancer as well as the presence of hormone receptors and/or an overgrowth of the HER2 protein. 

To determine if hormones or HER2 protein play a role in your breast cancer’s growth, testing is performed on the tissue removed during a breast biopsy or breast cancer surgery. The pathology report will provide the results of these tests, indicating whether your cancer cells have hormone or HER2 receptors. 

Hormone Receptor Status in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer cells can be fueled by either estrogen or progesterone, which are hormones produced naturally by the female body. These hormones attach to hormone receptor proteins on the outside of the tumor cells, causing the cancer cells to grow.

The hormone receptor status is determined as either hormone receptor (HR) positive or hormone receptor (HR) negative. 

Hormone receptor-positive breast cancer cells have either estrogen (ER) or progesterone (PR) receptors. These breast cancer types can be treated with anti-hormone therapy drugs that either lower estrogen levels or block estrogen receptors. HR-positive breast cancers tend to grow more slowly than those that are HR-negative. 

Hormone receptor-negative breast cancers do not have estrogen or progesterone receptors. These cancer types will not benefit from anti-hormone therapy drugs and typically grow faster than HR-positive cancers. 

How Hormones and HER2 Status Affect Breast Cancer Treatment Options

When breast cancer is tested for ER or PR receptors, it can result in one of five results on your pathology report. 

Hormone Receptors

  • Estrogen-receptor positive or negative (ER+/-): This describes whether or not the breast cancer cells have receptors for the hormone estrogen. ER+ results suggest that estrogen in the body may cause the cancer cells to grow.
  • Progesterone-receptor positive or negative (PR+/-): This describes whether or not the breast cancer cells have receptors for the hormone progesterone. PR+ results suggest that progesterone in the body may cause the cancer cells to grow.

Anti-hormone therapy is a treatment option that is used for hormone-positive breast cancers. This can slow the growth of breast cancer and reduce the risk of recurrence of breast cancer.  

HER2 Growth Factor Receptors 

HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) is a receptor (also called HER2 protein) on the surface of some breast cancer cells and plays a role in how a healthy breast cell grows, divides, and repairs itself. 

  • HER2-positive breast cancers make too much HER2 receptor/protein or contain extra copies of the HER2 gene. These breast cancers tend to be fast-growing. HER2-positive breast cancer treatment typically includes antibody therapy drugs that slow the growth and help kill these cancer cells.
  • HER2-low breast cancers only show a small amount of the HER2 receptor. These tumors may not respond to antibody therapies that specifically target HER2 receptors.
  • HER2-negative breast cancers do not express any HER2 receptors and do not respond to antibody therapies that specifically target HER2 receptors.

Watch this video with our breast cancer specialist, Dr. Sonia Hepburn, as she explains how treatment planning is affected by HER2 status.

Triple-negative Breast Cancer

This category of breast cancer tests negative for estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and HER2 receptors. Triple-negative breast cancer will be treated differently than the other types of breast cancer since hormones and HER2 do not play a role in the breast cancer’s growth. 

Check out our blogs, A New Treatment Approach for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer and Clinical Trials Driving Improved Survival Rates in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, to learn more about advancements in triple-negative breast cancer treatment due to clinical trials. 

You can also learn more about triple-negative breast cancer and the clinical research conducted at select Virginia Oncology Associates locations.

Virginia Oncology Associates