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Breast, thyroid cancer survivors at risk for developing other malignancy
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Survivors of breast cancer or thyroid cancer appeared at an increased risk for developing the other cancer as a second malignancy, according to the results of a literature review.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women, and in the U.S., the incidence of differentiated thyroid cancers has increased threefold during the last 30 years, according to study background.
“We now have large numbers of women who have survived one of the cancers,” Raymon H. Grogan, MD, assistant professor of surgery and director of the Endocrine Surgery Research Program at University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences, said in a press release. “We saw evidence in the clinic that women who survived one seemed vulnerable to later developing the other.”
Thus, Grogan and colleagues searched PubMed and Scopus to identify all publications reporting on the incidence of breast cancer as a secondary malignancy following a thyroid cancer diagnosis and vice versa. They then performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature.
The study included data from 147 publications, representing 19 unique cohorts of patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer after breast cancer and 18 cohorts of patients diagnosed with breast cancer after thyroid cancer.
Surviving breast cancer appeared associated with an increased risk for developing thyroid cancer as a second malignancy (OR = 1.55; 95% CI, 1.44-1.67). Similarly, surviving thyroid cancer was associated with an increased risk for breast cancer (OR = 1.18; 95% CI, 1.09-1.26).
The researchers identified several potential causes of these increases, including surveillance bias amongst cancer survivors, exposure to radiation and hormonal risk factors.
They further noted that external beam radiation in the treatment of breast cancer may be associated with thyroid cancer development, whereas radioactive iodine for thyroid cancer may increase the risk for breast cancer.
“The importance of the relationship between breast and thyroid cancer will continue to become evidence as the incidence of thyroid cancers continues to rise and the treatments for both cancers continue to improve,” Grogan and colleagues wrote. – by Cameron Kelsall
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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