Gene May Boost Death Risk From Most Common Thyroid Cancer

FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have pinpointed a genetic mutation that is strongly associated with an increased risk of death in people with thyroid cancer.

The investigators followed more than 1,800 patients after their initial treatment for papillary thyroid cancer, which accounts for 85 percent to 90 percent of all thyroid cancers.

After an average follow-up period of 33 months, 5 percent of those with the BRAF V600E mutation had died, compared with 1 percent of those without the mutation, according to the study in the April 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

However, the link between this mutation and increased risk of death was not independent of tumor characteristics, the study authors noted in a journal news release.

This, and the fact that the overall death rate from papillary thyroid cancer is low, means that it is unclear how to use these findings to reduce death risk in patients with this type of cancer, said Dr. Mingzhao Xing, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and colleagues.

The overall five-year survival rate for patients with papillary thyroid cancer is 95 percent to 97 percent. It's a challenge to distinguish patients who require aggressive treatment in order to reduce their risk of death from patients who do not, the researchers explained.

Even so, the authors of an accompanying editorial pointed out that the study provided important insight.

According to the editorialists, Dr. Anne Cappola and Dr. Susan Mandel of the University of Pennsylvania, "Although these findings do not support widespread BRAF V600E testing, they do support the need for additional study of how BRAF testing can be used to improve the already excellent prognosis of patients with papillary thyroid cancer."

While the study found an association between the gene mutation and thyroid cancer survival, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, news release, April 9, 2013

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thyroid?

I have hypothyroidism and I'm taking synthroid daily for last 8 months. I have stopped gaining but can't seem to lose a pound with out gaining 2-3 back. Iv been at 134 since starting the medication. I don't eat 5 meals a day due to a busy schedule I haven't been able to maintain that routine. I do spend most of the day on my feet with a mixture of walking and standing. The meals I do consume are healthy meals high in protein and such and I occasional splurge. I don't consume lots of sugar bc iv never been a big sugar fan anyways. I do have the occasional dr peppet through out the week and with 4 kids I spend the evenings on my feet aswell and started going to the gym a few times a week but still end up with the same results. Any feed back would be great!!!

Edited May 28 2013 20:31 by bierorama
Reason: Moved to Weight Loss

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People With Type 1 Diabetes at Risk of Thyroid Disease

Link between 'sister diseases' is rooted in immune system problem, expert says

By Serena Gordon

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, March 15 (HealthDay News) -- People who have type 1 diabetes are more likely than others to develop an autoimmune thyroid condition.

Though estimates vary, the rate of thyroid disease -- either under- or overactive thyroid -- may be as high as 30 percent in people with type 1 diabetes, according to Dr. Betul Hatipoglu, an endocrinologist with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. And the odds are especially high for women, whether they have diabetes or not, she said, noting that women are eight times more likely than men to develop thyroid disease.

"I tell my patients thyroid disease and type 1 diabetes are sister diseases, like branches of a tree," she said. "Each is different, but the root is the same. And, that root is autoimmunity, where the immune system is attacking your own healthy endocrine parts."

Hatipoglu also noted that autoimmune diseases often run in families. A grandparent may have had thyroid problems, while an offspring may develop type 1 diabetes.

"People who have one autoimmune disease are at risk for another," explained Dr. Lowell Schmeltz, an endocrinologist and assistant professor at the Oakland University-William Beaumont School of Medicine in Royal Oak, Mich.

"There's some genetic risk that links these autoimmune conditions, but we don't know what environmental triggers make them activate," he explained, adding that the antibodies from the immune system that destroy the healthy tissue are different in type 1 diabetes than in autoimmune thyroid disease.

Hatipoglu said that people with type 1 diabetes are also more prone to celiac disease, another autoimmune condition.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, destroying them. Insulin is a hormone that's necessary for the metabolism of carbohydrates in foods. Without enough insulin, blood sugar levels can skyrocket, leading to serious complications or death. People who have type 1 diabetes have to replace the lost insulin, using shots of insulin or an insulin pump with a tube inserted under the skin. Too much insulin, however, can also cause a dangerous condition called hypoglycemia, which occurs when blood sugar levels drop too low.

The thyroid is a small gland that produces thyroid hormone, which is essential for many aspects of the body's metabolism.

Most of the time, people with type 1 diabetes will develop an underactive thyroid, a condition called Hashimoto's disease. About 10 percent of the time, Schmeltz said, the thyroid issue is an overactive thyroid, called Graves' disease.

In general, people develop type 1 diabetes and then develop thyroid problems at some point in the future, said Hatipoglu. However, with more people being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in their 30s, 40s and 50s, Schmeltz said, it's quite possible that thyroid disease can come first.

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