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Hormonal Add-Back Therapy

Meaning

Hormonal add-back therapy is a specific clinical strategy involving the co-administration of a small, replacement dose of a natural hormone alongside a primary treatment that suppresses the body’s endogenous production of that same hormone. This approach is typically utilized when the primary therapy, such as a GnRH agonist or antagonist, is necessary to treat a hormone-sensitive condition but causes undesirable side effects due to severe hormonal deficiency. The goal is to mitigate symptoms like bone loss or vasomotor instability without compromising the efficacy of the primary suppressive treatment. This balanced regimen aims to maintain the patient’s quality of life while achieving therapeutic disease control.