Relationship of thyroid disease to renal cell carcinoma. An epidemiologic study |
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Authors: | A G Rosenberg F Dexeus D A Swanson A C von Eschenbach |
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Institution: | Department of Urology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. |
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Abstract: | Thyroid hormone participates in numerous cellular functions besides thermogenesis and metabolism. Several studies, including the recent identification of the product of an oncogene, c-erb-A, as a thyroid-hormone receptor, have shown possible involvement of thyroid hormone in the process of carcinogenesis. A recent anecdotal observation of an unusually high incidence of thyroid dysfunction in women with renal cell carcinoma led to a retrospective review of the incidence and distribution of thyroid disorders in women with renal cell carcinoma compared with a control group of women with transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis, ureter, bladder, or urethra. Women with renal cell carcinoma had a statistically significantly higher percentage of hypothyroidism, thyroid disease in general, and the use of thyroid-hormone supplements as compared with the control group (P = 0.033, P = 0.005, P = 0.041, respectively). The nature of the relationship, however, could not be determined. These findings add a new dimension to renal cell carcinoma, and prospective studies are encouraged to define the contribution of thyroid hormone to renal cell carcinogenesis. |
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