Does hypothyroidism increase the risk of breast cancer: evidence from a meta-analysis

A partir d'une revue systématique de la littérature publiée entre 1978 et 2019 (19 études), cette méta-analyse évalue l'association entre l'hypothyroïdisme et le risque de cancer du sein

BMC Cancer, Volume 20, Numéro 1, Page 733, 2020, article en libre accès

Résumé en anglais

Purpose: At present, the relationship between hypothyroidism and the risk of breast cancer is still inconclusive. This meta-analysis was used to systematically assess the relationship between hypothyroidism and breast cancer risk, and to assess whether thyroid hormone replacement therapy can increase breast cancer risk.

Methods: The relevant articles about hypothyroidism and the risk of breast cancer were obtained on the electronic database platform. Relevant data were extracted, and odd ratios (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were merged using Stata SE 12.0 software.

Results: A total of 19 related studies were included in the meta-analysis, including 6 cohort studies and 13 case-control studies. The results show that hypothyroidism was not related to the risk of breast cancer (odd ratios = 0.90, 95% CI 0.77–1.03). In the European subgroup, we observed that patients with hypothyroidism have a lower risk of breast cancer(odd ratios = 0.93, 95% CI 0.88–0.99). Furthermore, no significant correlation was observed between thyroid hormone replacement therapy and the risk of breast cancer. (odd ratios = 0.87, 95% CI 0.65–1.09).

Conclusion: Hypothyroidism may reduce the risk of breast cancer in the European population, and no significant correlation was observed between hypothyroidism and breast cancer risk in non-European populations. Due to the limited number of studies included, more large-scale, high-quality, long-term prospective cohort studies are needed.