Male Thyroid Cancer Survivors Face 50% Higher Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Than Women
Male thyroid cancer survivors have a nearly 50% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease than women within 5 years of cancer diagnosis, according to a new study published by Park et al in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
More than 62,000 new cases of thyroid cancer are diagnosed every year. Thyroid cancer is often diagnosed in young people and is associated with a 5-year survival rate of 98%.
“Thyroid cancer survivors are at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease,” said one of the study's main authors, Mia Hashibe, PhD, of Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City.
More Study Findings
In the cohort study, researchers studied the medical records of nearly 4,000 thyroid cancer survivors over a 15-year period using the statewide Utah Population Database. The researchers examined potential risk factors, treatment effects, and cardiovascular disease outcomes in this population. Factors like sex, baseline weight, and thyroid-stimulating hormone therapy were associated with higher cardiovascular disease risk within 5 years of cancer diagnosis.
The study found male thyroid cancer survivors face a nearly 50% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease than women. Thyroid cancer survivors who have obesity have a 41% higher risk, and individuals whose thyroid-stimulating hormone levels were suppressed as part of their cancer treatment have a 25% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
“Our findings suggest that thyroid cancer survivors should be continuously monitored and screened for cardiovascular disease for both earlier detection and better [preventive] care,” Dr. Hashibe said.
The content in this post has not been reviewed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) and does not necessarily reflect the ideas and opinions of ASCO®.
