Thyroid autoantibodies and thyroid function in patients with gastric cancer

Antibodies against thyroid antigens are commonly found in patients with chronic gastritis type B (20-30%) and pernicious anaemia (50%), two disorders that predispose to gastric cancer. In addition, thyroid disease in increased incidence has been reported in breast and in colon cancer. In order to determine a) the incidence of antithyroid antibodies (ATA) in gastric cancer, b) the thyroid function in patients with ATA and c) the correlation between ATA and the presence of chronic gastritis, we examined the sera of 32 patients with gastric cancer (GC) for the presence of antithyroglobulin and antimicrosomal antibodies. T3, T4 and TSH values were also measured. The sera of 36 patients with malignant tumours of the GI tract other than stomach (OMT) and of 40 healthy blood donors were used as controls. Three of the 32 GC patients had antithyroglobulin antibodies, 4 had antimicrosomal and one had both types. Of the eight patients with ATA (25%) only two had hypothyroidism and another two histologically diagnosed chronic gastritis. Three sera of the healthy controls and one of the OMT had also antithyroid antibodies. To conclude, a significant number of patients with GC had ATA as compared to controls (p < 0.01) but the presence of ATA did not necessarily indicate an abnormality of thyroid function. The presence of antibodies did not correlate with chronic gastritis type B.