Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2017 Nov;96(47):e8230.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000008230.

Association of diabetes mellitus with thyroid cancer risk: A meta-analysis of cohort studies

Hongtao Li  1 , Jun Qian
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Association of diabetes mellitus with thyroid cancer risk: A meta-analysis of cohort studies

Hongtao Li et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is inconsistently associated with thyroid cancer risk. The purpose of this study was to summarize findings from cohort studies regarding the strength of the association of DM with subsequent thyroid cancer risk.

Methods: Electronic searches were performed in PubMed, EmBase, and the Cochrane Library to identify studies from inception to July 2016. Cohort studies reporting risk estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of thyroid cancer in DM and non-DM patients were included. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to the risk of thyroid cancer in DM compared with non-DM participants.

Results: Sixteen cohort studies were included, with a total of 10,725,884 individuals. These studies reported a total of 8032 cases of thyroid cancer. Overall, DM was associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer (relative risk [RR], 1.20; 95% CI, 1.09-1.33; P < .001). Further, there was no significant difference was found between DM and non-DM for the risk of thyroid cancer in men (RR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.00-1.30; P = .057), while a significant correlation was found in a pooled analysis in women (RR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.06-1.17; P < .001). Finally, subgroup analyses suggested that country and mean age might correlate with the relationship between DM and the risk of thyroid cancer.

Conclusion: This study suggested that patients with DM have significantly increased risk of thyroid cancer compared nondiabetics. This positive association was prominent in women, and not significant in men. Further large-scale studies are required to verify the nature of the association, which should be evaluated in specific subpopulations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study selection process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Diabetes mellitus (DM) and thyroid cancer risk.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Diabetes mellitus (DM) and thyroid cancer risk in men.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Diabetes mellitus (DM) and thyroid cancer risk in women.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Publication bias for diabetes mellitus (DM) and thyroid cancer risk.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ron E, Schneider AB. Schottenfeld D, Fraumeni JF., Jr Thyroid cancer. Cancer Epidemiology and Preventioned. New York: Oxford University Press; 2006. 975–94.
    1. Xing M. Molecular pathogenesis and mechanisms of thyroid cancer. Nat Rev Cancer 2013;13:184–99. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fiore E, Rago T, Provenzale MA, et al. Lower levels of TSH are associated with a lower risk of papillary thyroid cancer in patients with thyroid nodular disease: thyroid autonomy may play a protective role. Endocr Relat Cancer 2009;16:1251–60. - PubMed
    1. Hu N, Li ZM, Liu JF, et al. An overall and dose-response meta-analysis for thyrotropin and thyroid cancer risk by histological type. Oncotarget 2016;7:47750–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Radisauskas R, Kuzmickiene I, Milinaviciene E, et al. Hypertension, serum lipids and cancer risk: a review of epidemiological evidence. Medicina (Kaunas) 2016;52:89–98. - PubMed

Publication types