Hormone receptor positive breast cancers

About 70% to 80% of breast cancers are ‘hormone receptor positive’. This means the cancer cells have hormone ‘receptors’ on them and need female hormones to grow and reproduce.

There are 2 types of hormone receptors:

1. oestrogen (ER)
2. progesterone (PR)

When your treating team knows your breast cancer is sensitive to hormones, they can decide the best way to treat it and prevent it from coming back.

Breast cancer that is hormone receptor positive may be described as:

• oestrogen receptor positive (ER+)
• progesterone receptor positive (PR+)

If your cancer has no hormone receptors it is called hormone receptor negative.

You can find information about the hormone receptor status in your pathology report.

About hormone receptor positive breast cancer

Breast cancer cells contain special proteins called hormone receptors. These receptors receive messages from the hormones and respond by telling the cells what to do.

Hormone receptor positive breast cancer uses hormones (oestrogen and progesterone) in the body to grow.

Oestrogen is the main hormone that helps breast cancers to grow. Progesterone may affect the growth of some breast cancers.

Both early breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer can be hormone receptor positive.

About 70% of breast cancers are oestrogen receptor positive. About 60% are also progesterone receptor positive.

Testing to identify the hormone receptor type

All breast cancers are tested to see if they are hormone receptor positive. This is done using a sample of the breast tissue removed during a biopsy or surgery.

Testing is important, as it helps your doctor decide how best to kill the cancer cells and stop them growing.

If your cancer is hormone receptor negative, hormone-blocking therapies will not help. Other treatments, such as chemotherapy, are more suitable for you.

The tissue is also tested to see whether it is HER2-positive. Again, this helps decide which treatment is the best option. Cancer that is HER2-positive and hormone receptor-positive is sometimes called triple positive breast cancer.

Treating hormone receptor positive breast cancer

When your treating team knows your breast cancer is sensitive to hormones, they can decide the best way to treat it and prevent it from coming back in future.

Treatment with hormone-blocking therapy is recommended for most people. This may be before or after surgery and other treatments such as chemotherapy and HER2 treatment. Find out about Treatments for HR+ breast cancer.