Penn Gynecologic Oncology offers the latest advances in chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and immunotherapy to treat uterine and endometrial cancer.
Chemotherapy for uterine and endometrial cancer
Chemotherapy for uterine and endometrial cancer is most often given after uterine cancer surgery, but if the cancer has spread, chemotherapy may be given before surgery in order to shrink the cancer. Chemotherapy might also be prescribed to prevent uterine cancer from coming back (recurrence).
At Penn Medicine, dedicated chemotherapy nurse practitioners work closely with the oncology team as well as any necessary specialists to ensure that you receive seamless, coordinated care from your first chemotherapy session through follow-up care.
Hormone therapy for uterine and endometrial cancer
Hormone therapy keeps cancer cells from receiving the hormones they need to grow and spread. Hormones are chemicals produced by various glands in the body. They circulate in the bloodstream, and some hormones can affect the way certain cancers grow. Hormones that can stimulate cancer include:
- Estrogen
- Progesterone
- Testosterone
Hormone therapy blocks the production or the effects of these hormones and helps stop the cancer from growing. Treatment may include the use of drugs that change the way hormones work, or surgery to remove the ovaries in order to stop hormone production.
Immunotherapy for uterine and endometrial cancer
Cancer specialists at Penn Medicine are pioneers in using a patient's own immune system to fight cancer. Immunotherapy involves triggering the immune system to fight the cancer or to lessen the side effects that may be caused by some cancer treatments.
Immunotherapy is designed to repair, stimulate or enhance your immune system's responses to cancer. The immune system fights viruses and bacteria to prevent disease; it can also play a role in preventing cancer from developing or spreading. The goal of immunotherapy is to enhance your body's natural defense and its ability to recognize and fight cancer.
At Penn, medical oncologists help the immune system function better by introducing substances that occur naturally in your body. The therapy may stimulate the immune system to make more of the substance, or the therapy may be a man-made version of that natural substance itself. Other types of therapies use cells from your body, which are then altered in a laboratory and given back to you.
Immunotherapy is less invasive and less toxic than some other therapies because it uses your body's immune system to fight cancer cells. It works by:
- Targeting specific cancer cells, avoiding damage to normal cells
- Making cancer cells easy for your immune system to recognize
- Possibly preventing or slowing tumor growth
- Potentially preventing the spread of cancer cells
- Using your immune system better to more effectively attack cancer cells