Aromatase inhibitors are medications used in hormone therapy for breast cancer with hormone receptor expression in postmenopausal women.
After menopause, the ovaries stop producing estrogens (female sex hormones), and the main source becomes the conversion of other hormones into estrogens through a process called aromatization.
This process, which occurs in muscles, liver, fatty tissue, and adrenal glands, depends on an enzyme called aromatase. In postmenopausal patients, the most effective way to reduce estrogen production is by inhibiting the aromatase enzyme.
In cases of breast cancer with hormone receptor expression, tumor growth can be stimulated by estrogens. Thus, one way to treat the disease is to block estrogen production using an aromatase inhibitor.
