Thyroid Cancer Associated with Abnormal TSH Levels

Thyroid-stimulating hormone levels (TSH) outside the normal range were associated with an increased risk for developing human papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) in men and women, according to the findings of a recent study.

The study included 741 individuals with histologically confirmed PTC cases (341 women, 400 men) and 741 matched controls with prediagnostic serum samples. Serum samples were used to measure concentrations of TSH, total T3, total T4, and free T4. Odds ratios (OR) that assessed the associations between various levels of thyroid hormones and TSH and the development of PTC were calculated using logistic regression models.
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The median time from when patients had their blood drawn to when they received a diagnosis of PTC was 1454 days.

Among women, serum TSH levels below the normal range were associated with an increased risk for developing PTC compared with those in the middle range (OR 3.74). This association was not observed in men.

TSH levels above the normal range in men was associated with an increased risk for developing PTC (OR 1.96), but this association was not observed in women.

In addition, the risk of PTC decreased in relation to increasing TSH levels within the normal range among both men and women.

“We found a significantly increased risk of PTC associated with TSH levels below the normal range among women and with TSH levels above the normal range among men,” the researchers concluded. “An inverse association between PTC and TSH levels within the normal range was observed among both men and women.”

“These results could have significant clinical implications for physicians who are managing patients with abnormal thyroid functions and those with thyroidectomy.”

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Huang H, Rusiecki J, Zhao N, et al. Thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyroid hormones, and risk of papillary thyroid cancer: a nested case–control study. 2017;26;8: 1209-1218. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-16-0845.