Hormonal correlation with abnormal thyroid function and their auxiliary diagnostic value in breast cancer

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Oncology
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Thyroid hormones play crucial roles in cellular metabolism and growth.
• Alterations in thyroid function have been implicated in various cancers, but their specific role in breast cancer requires further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between serum thyroid hormone levels and pathological characteristics in breast cancer patients.
• To evaluate the diagnostic and predictive value of thyroid hormones in breast cancer.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 120 breast cancer patients and 100 healthy controls.
• Measurement of serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroglobulin antibody (TG-Ab), and Thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab).
• Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and correlation analysis with pathological features.

Main Results:

• Patients with breast cancer showed significantly higher serum FT4 and TPO-Ab levels compared to controls, though within normal ranges.
• ROC analysis indicated good diagnostic performance for FT4 (AUC=0.701) and TPO-Ab (AUC=0.805).
• FT4 and TPO-Ab levels were significantly associated with tumor size, clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, and hormone receptor status (ER/PR).

Conclusions:

• Serum FT4 and TPO-Ab levels are closely associated with breast cancer occurrence, progression, and pathological features.
• These thyroid-related markers demonstrate diagnostic and predictive value for breast cancer.
• FT4 and TPO-Ab may serve as potential biomarkers for assessing breast cancer recurrence risk.