Question 1

What is the Meaning of Endocrine Therapy Resistance?

Accepted Answer

Endocrine therapy resistance defines a clinical scenario where cancer cells, initially responsive to hormone-blocking treatments, develop mechanisms to circumvent their inhibitory effects, leading to disease progression despite ongoing therapeutic intervention.

Question 2

What is the Context of Endocrine Therapy Resistance?

Accepted Answer

This phenomenon primarily occurs in hormone-receptor-positive cancers, such as estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer or androgen receptor-positive prostate cancer, where endogenous hormones drive tumor growth and proliferation.

Question 3

What is the Significance of Endocrine Therapy Resistance?

Accepted Answer

Clinically, the emergence of resistance represents a major challenge in long-term cancer management, as it compromises treatment efficacy, necessitates changes in therapeutic strategy, and can negatively impact patient prognosis and quality of life.

Question 4

What is the Mechanism of Endocrine Therapy Resistance?

Accepted Answer

Resistance can arise through various cellular adaptations, including acquired mutations in hormone receptors like ESR1, activation of alternative growth signaling pathways such as PI3K/AKT/mTOR, epigenetic modifications, or crosstalk with components of the tumor microenvironment.

Question 5

What is the Application of Endocrine Therapy Resistance?

Accepted Answer

In practice, endocrine therapy resistance manifests as radiographic progression of disease or an increase in tumor markers in patients undergoing hormone therapy, prompting clinicians to consider alternative systemic treatments, including chemotherapy or targeted agents.

Question 6

What is the Metric of Endocrine Therapy Resistance?

Accepted Answer

Monitoring for resistance involves regular clinical assessments, serial imaging studies like CT or PET scans to evaluate tumor burden, tracking specific tumor biomarkers such as CA 15-3 or PSA, and increasingly, analyzing circulating tumor DNA for resistance-associated genetic alterations.

Question 7

What is the Risk of Endocrine Therapy Resistance?

Accepted Answer

The primary risk associated with endocrine therapy resistance is the continued growth and spread of the cancer, which can lead to increased symptom burden, diminished functional status, and ultimately, reduced overall survival without timely and effective subsequent therapeutic interventions.

Endocrine Therapy Resistance

Meaning

Context

Significance

Mechanism

Application

Metric

Risk

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