Breast cancer and thyroid diseases: analysis of 867 consecutive cases

AbstractIntroductionThe aim of this study was to evaluate the association of breast cancer with thyroid diseases. Many authors have already studied the possible relationship between these two diseases, but the results are nowadays conflicting.Materials and methodsOur study examining 867 patients with breast cancer (862 women and 5 men, average age  = 61 years old) of whom 141 also had thyroid disease evaluated the recurrence of thyroid diseases and their association with different types of breast cancer. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software for Windows; we used nonparametric tests (Chi-square and Mann–Whitney), and the level of significance was set atp <  0.05.Results We found a significant association between breast cancer diagnosed after menopause and thyroid disease (p <  0.003). Moreover, we analyzed the role of thyroid autoimmunity identifying an association between chronic autoimmune thyroiditis and breast cancer diagnosed before menopause (p <  0.05). Regarding receptor profile of breast carcinoma, we have found an increased expression of estrogen receptors in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis compared to patients with any other thyroid diseases (p <  0.03). Contrariwise, we do not have found any difference between the group with every thyroid disease and the group without thyroid disease (p <  1.00). We did not find other statistically significant associations with breast cancer’s parameters like family history, tu...
Source: Journal of Endocrinological Investigation - Category: Endocrinology Source Type: research