RSS Feeds
American Thyroid Association Statement: Breast Cancer and Thyroid Hormone Therapy
- EDUCATION COMMITTEE;
- AMERICAN THYROID ASSOCIATION;
- COLUM A. GORMAN, M.B., B.CH. (CHAIRMAN);
- DAVID V. BECKER, M.D.;
- FRANCIS S. GREENSPAN, M.D.;
- RICHARD P. LEVY, M.D.;
- JACK H. OPPENHEIMER, M.D.;
- RICHARD S. RIVLIN, M.D.;
- JACOB ROBBINS, M.D.; and
- WILLARD P. VANDERLAAN, M.D.
Excerpt
Among patients undergoing mammography at a hospital in Detroit, Michigan, the prevalence of breast cancer was higher in women receiving thyroid hormone therapy than in those who were not (1). The prevalence of breast cancer was said to increase with longer duration of thyroid hormone treatment, particularly in nulliparous women. After this report appeared and was widely publicized by the news media, many patients have expressed concern that the thyroid hormone they are taking may be dangerous, and they have inquired as to whether such treatment should be stopped.
The American Thyroid Association, whose membership comprises physicians and basic scientists
