Medical treatments use drugs, hormones and other agents to kill cancer cells.
These drugs work against cancer in different ways. Your gynecologic oncologist will choose the drugs and combination of treatments best for you and your cancer.
Many different types of drugs are used to treat uterine and endometrial cancers. Your cancer care team will determine the best drugs and combinations of drugs for you based on several factors, such as your cancer’s type, stage and grade, and whether it has certain biomarkers.
Chemotherapy for uterine cancer
After surgery, the second line of attack against ovarian cancer is typically chemotherapy treatment. Chemotherapy drugs attack rapidly growing cells (like cancer cells) in the body. Several chemotherapy drugs are available to treat ovarian, fallopian tube and peritoneal cancers. These drugs are typically delivered through an intravenous (IV) infusion
Hormone therapy for uterine cancer
Because hormones like estrogen and progesterone can fuel some uterine and endometrial cancers, using drugs that mediate the levels of these hormones in the body can be effective in slowing and/or stopping cancer growth. Several types of hormone therapy may be used for uterine cancer and include:
- Progestins. These man-made versions of the hormone progesterone can slow the growth of endometrial cancer.
- Anti-estrogens. These drugs, such as tamoxifen and fulvestrant, reduce the amount of estrogen in the body.
- Aromatase inhibitors. These drugs help to prevent the fatty tissue in the body from making estrogen.
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists. These drugs work to suppress the production and release of estrogen in the ovaries.
Targeted therapy for uterine cancer
Targeted therapies are a class of cancer drugs that find and attack cancer cells by targeting a specific feature of the cancer cell, such as a protein or mutation that isn’t found in normal, healthy cells. Some of these drugs are in the form of a pill, taken orally; others are delivered by intravenous (IV) infusion. Your gynecologic oncologist may recommend one of these targeted therapies for your uterine cancer if your disease is advanced, recurrent (came back after a period of remission), or if other treatments have not been effective for you.
- Bevacizumab. This drug blocks a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that helps cancer cells form new blood vessels to feed the tumor.
- Trastuzumab. This drug targets cancer cells that have excess amounts of HER2, another protein that helps cancer cells grow rapidly. If your pathology report finds that your cancer cells have too much HER2, trastuzumab may be added to your chemotherapy regimen.
Immunotherapy for uterine cancer
Immunotherapy is a relatively new approach in cancer treatment that aims to harness the body’s own immune system to fight the cancer. Cancer cells are able to grow in the body because they are adept at hiding from the body’s natural defenses and immune system. Immunotherapy uses drugs and other agents to reveal these cells and trigger the body’s immune system to mount an attack on them.
Immunotherapy agents work in different ways and with different aspects of the immune system. For uterine cancer, immunotherapy may include:
- Immune checkpoint inhibitors. These drugs target certain proteins known as immune checkpoints which work to depress the immune response. The drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is a checkpoint inhibitor that may be part of your treatment plan.