Abstract
Estrogen and progesterone, female sex hormones, are known to play important roles in female reproductive health via their nuclear receptors. Some cancers and tumors show these female sex hormones(especially estrogen)dependent growth and development. Therefore, various types of drugs, which modulate these hormonal effects, have been developed and used for treatment of estrogen receptor(ER) and/or progesterone receptor(PR) positive cancers since 1960 s. In this decade. the researches on structures and functions of ER and PR isoforms have rapidly been promoted by the progress of molecular biology. The researches and developments of new drugs against ER and/or PR positive cancers(e.g. pure antiestrogen, progesterone receptor modulators) are also in progress. In this review, we will introduce the functions of ER and PR, endocrine therapy for ER and/or PR positive cancers, and recent researches on new compounds and natural products which show antitumor effects against ER and/or PR positive cancers.
