Abstract:
Background: Breast carcinoma is a frequent disease that affects the female population.
As for other malignant diseases, several studies have been carried out in an
attempt to identify its etiology, yet the etiological agent has not been clearly defined.
The etiological relationship between thyroid disease and breast cancer is still being
investigated. However, most of the studies in this field are conflicting and discussions
on this relationship still continue.
Patients and Method: Our prospective open study was conducted on 136 consecutive
patients operated for breast carcinoma. As a control group, 68 individuals with normal
breast examination, who did not have any known malignancy and/or thyroid disease,
living in the same geographical region and with matching socio-cultural and
economical status, were included in the study. We aimed to identify the occurrence and
frequency of thyroid pathologies in both groups to compare the clinical and the
laboratory features of thyroid disease and breast carcinoma in an attempt to contribute
to the studies investigating the relationship between these two entities.
Results: We found thyroid pathology in 77.9% of breast cancer patients while this was
47.1% in the control group. Breast cancer patients had higher levels of free-T3 and
more frequent diffuse and nodular enlargement of thyroid gland in ultrasonography
when compared to the control group. Furthermore, in the presence of thyroid disease,
breast cancer patients had statistically significant increases in the number of metastatic
lymph nodes, vascular invasion, and tumor size.
Conclusion: In conclusion, the frequency of thyroid pathology is higher in breast
cancer patients compared to controls indicating a relationship between breast carcinoma
and thyroid pathology. Our study shows that the presence of thyroid pathology
in breast cancer patients can be influential on the spread of cancer and adversely affect
its prognosis. We thought further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to
explain the reason for co-occurrence of breast cancer and thyroid disease and
furthermore to investigate the prognosis and survival of breast cancer patients in the
presence of thyroid pathology.
