Stress hormones could undermine breast cancer therapy

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-06/tju-shc061815.php

Public Release: 22-Jun-2015
Thomas Jefferson University

Recently, researchers have discovered that the hormone progesterone, an ingredient in contraceptives and menopausal hormone replacement therapies, might stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells that are resistant to anti-estrogen therapy and chemotherapy. Now, new research published June 22nd in the journal Oncogene, a Nature publication, shows that additional hormones, including stress hormones that are frequently used to treat the side effects of common chemotherapy, could make these effective cancer drugs fail sooner in some women with breast cancer. But there may be ways to counteract the effect.

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