[Hormonal therapy in oncologic treatment: pathogenic hypotheses and interactions between thyroid and breast pathologies]

Abstract

Introduction: The aim to individuate the eventual correlation between the two pathologies has justified deeper studies to achieve new prospective approaches for both disease.

Background: We have selected 4 groups of patients who presented an association between the two pathologies: a) malignant breast pathology associated to a malignant thyroid pathology, b) patients with breast carcinoma who presented association with some thyroid alterations, c) patients with thyroid carcinoma who presented association with some breast alterations, d) patients who presented some associations between benign breast pathology and benign thyroid pathology.

Materials and methods: We have excluded all patients with a clear physiological or surgical menopausal status, and we've so considered only patients with a regular menstrual cycle. We've so selected a group of 120 patients and we've performed in all these patients during the early follicular phase the following exams: breast echographic evaluation and thyroid echographic-structure and volume determination and finally hormonal determinations we have so obtained two breast subgroups: 32 patients with hyperestrogenic integrative hormonal characteristics, 28 patients subjected to adjuvant hormonal therapy with hypoestregenic hormonal status and finally two thyroid subgroups, 22 patients showing clinical or subclinical hypothyroidism, 38 patients showing clinical or subclinical hyperthyroidism. We've compared these data to a random age-matched health control women group of 25 patients.

Results: The first group of patient showed a thyroid hormonal pattern of subclinical hypothyroidism or at least free T3 and free T4 mean value currently under and TSH and TPO Ab levels curve currently over the mean values of the control group. The second group showed the TSH suppressed with free T3 and free T4 curves currently over the mean value of the control group. The third group showed slight elevations in serum PRL levels curve. The fourth group showed increased estrogen levels-curve, often over the mean value of the control group.

Conclusion: How much is it allowed to perform an hormonal therapy, specially for a benign pathology if we're not yet able to understand the deep and unknown interaction between breast and thyroid?