The question is whether this relationship is causative, which it almost certainly is NOT. Whatever upsets the thyroid, upsets the immune system. I found that our empirically in the 1980s.
The bad news is the epidemics of cancer, diabetes, autism and toxicity are being largely ignored. The good news is even that even a weak detoxifier like soy isoflavones is now proven to be doing something.
What would happen if we did everything, as I advocate in my FIGHT program or as Mark Hyman advocates in his ultrawellness.com programs. It follows to me logically that all of these degenerative diseases need basically the same advanced total detox program. When will we wake up and do something to reduce our exposure?
Do we need to get to the point that instead of just 1 in 8 it becomes 1 in 2 get Breast Cancer and/or 1 in 2 have either autism or Diabetes?
“Today breast cancer rates have escalated to the point where women’s lifetime risk of developing breast cancer is 1 in 8. In the year 2002, the American Cancer Society estimated that nearly 203,500 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 39,600 women will die from the disease. This means that approximately every two and a half minutes a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer and that approximately every thirteen minutes, a woman dies from this disease. Breast cancer has become the second largest cause of cancer death in women, after skin cancer, and the leading cause of death for women between the ages of 35-54” http://www.nhiondemand.com/HSJArticle.aspx?id=731&utm_source=Health+Studies+Journal+-+Professional&utm_campaign=e2242591aa-HSJ_Jan_12th_2010&utm_medium=email
Sincerely,
Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
Since this group comprises largely the most intelligent doc’s in the world, I thought this would be of interest and it needs some input; found a reference to this in a review on breast cancer. I know there’s a doc out there who has studied this and can weigh in intelligently. Any thoughts? There are a few references I put in that also contradict. But the iodine experts will have an answer I know and help calm down my wife who has a family history and is on replacement. Thanks in advance for your input.
Jeff A Baird DO
JAMA. 1976 Sep 6;236(10):1124-7.
Breast cancer. Relationship to thyroid supplements for hypothyroidism.
Kapdi CC, Wolfe JN.
This study was undertaken to determine the relationship between thyroid supplements and breast cancer. The incidence of breast cancer among the patients who received thyroid supplements was 12.13%, while in the control group it was 6.2%. The incidence rate of breast cancer was 10%, 9.42%, and 19.48% among patients who received thyroid supplements for one to five, 5 to 15, and for more than 15 years, respectively. The incidence of breast cancer among nulliparous women who received thyroid supplements was 33%, while in the nulliparous women without thyroid supplements the incidence was only 9.25%. Even in a specific age group, the incidence rate of breast cancer was higher among patients receiving thyroid supplements, when compared to the control patients in the same age group.
PMID: 988872 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
Breast Cancer Res. 2003;5(5):R110-3. Epub 2003 Jun 5.
Breast cancer in association with thyroid disorders.
Turken O, NarIn Y, DemIrbas S, Onde ME, Sayan O, KandemIr EG, YaylacI M, Ozturk A.
GATA Haydarpasa Training Hospital, Medical Oncology Department, KadIkoy, Istanbul, Turkey. oturken@hotmail.com
Comment in:
•Breast Cancer Res. 2003;5(5):235-8.
BACKGROUND: The relationship between breast cancer and thyroid diseases is controversial. Discrepant results have been reported in the literature. The incidences of autoimmune and nonautoimmune thyroid diseases were investigated in patients with breast cancer and age-matched control individuals without breast or thyroid disease. METHODS: Clinical and ultrasound evaluation of thyroid gland, determination of serum thyroid hormone and antibody levels, and fine-needle aspiration of thyroid gland were performed in 150 breast cancer patients and 100 control individuals. RESULTS: The mean values for anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies were significantly higher in breast cancer patients than in control individuals (P = 0.030). The incidences of autoimmune and nonautoimmune thyroid diseases were higher in breast cancer patients than in control individuals (38% versus 17%, P = 0.001; 26% versus 9%, P = 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate an increased prevalence of autoimmune and nonautoimmune thyroid diseases in breast cancer patients.
PMID: 12927040 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
JAMA. 1984 Feb 3;251(5):616-9.
Breast cancer in hypothyroid women using thyroid supplements.
Hoffman DA, McConahey WM, Brinton LA, Fraumeni JF Jr.
The risk of breast cancer associated with thyroid supplementation for iatrogenic hypothyroidism was investigated in women treated for hyperthyroidism at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. One or more years after the diagnosis of hypothyroidism, there were 47 cases of breast cancer observed among 1,665 women compared with 52.9 cases expected, a ratio of observed to expected cases (standardized incidence ratio [SIR]) of 0.9. There was also no breast cancer excess among women who remained euthyroid (SIR = 1.0). Breast cancer risks were not influenced by various factors associated with the management of hyperthyroidism or subsequent hypothyroidism. No increased risk was observed in hypothyroid women categorized by breast cancer risk factors except for women who reported a previous breast biopsy, an excess also observed among euthyroid patients. The results of this study indicate that use of thyroid supplements does not increase the risk of breast cancer developing.
PMID: 6690834 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
JAMA. 1977 Apr 4;237(14):1446-7.
Thyroid supplementation for hypothyroidism.Anlatrogenic cause of breast cancer?
Mustacchi P, Greenspan F.
In four subpopulations grouped by varying durations of thyroid supplementation (none, one to five years, six to 15 years, and 15 years of more), breast cancer frequency correlated positively with attained age. The cancer experience of persons in the same age-group was relatively stable regardless of how long women took thyroid supplements. The present data support the provisional inference that breast cancer and duration of thyroid therapy are both age-dependent and question the belief that pretreatment with thyroid supplements increases the risk of breast cancer development. Relationship of these two variables can only be determined by prospective studies.
PMID: 576635 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
J Chronic Dis. 1984;37(12):877-93.
Relationship of thyroid disease and use of thyroid supplements to breast cancer risk.
Brinton LA, Hoffman DA, Hoover R, Fraumeni JF Jr.
An interview study of 1362 breast cancer cases and 1250 controls identified through a multi-center screening program allowed evaluation of effects of thyroid disease and supplementation on breast cancer risk. A previous diagnosis of treated thyroid disease was not associated with an excess risk (RR = 1.0), nor were any specific diagnoses, including hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or goiter. Although based on limited numbers, women with untreated hypothyroidism or goiter had a significantly reduced risk of breast cancer (RR = 0.3, 95% CI 0.1-0.7). Thyroid supplementation for non-disease reasons (primarily weight loss and fertility problems) was associated with a slight elevation in breast cancer risk (RR = 1.2, 95% CI 0.9-1.7), but patterns of risk by duration and latency generally failed to provide evidence of causality. Elevated risks were noted among women who received thyroid medications for fertility problems (RR = 4.2) and among those with a family history of breast cancer (RR = 2.6) or a late age at first childbirth (RR = 2.4), possibly indicating an hormonal interaction.
PMID: 6526927 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
KlinWochenschr. 1978 Dec 1;56(23):1139-45.
Thyroid disease in relation to breast cancer.
Vorherr H.
A controversy exists in regard to thyroid function and breast cancer. Hypothyroidism has been suggested as being either protective from breast cancer or predisposing to the disease. It has been hypothesized that a deficiency in circulating thyroid hormones may hypersensitize the mammary glandular epithelium toward prolactin and estrogens, thus aiding the development of breast neoplasia. On the other hand, thyroid hormone replacement therapy has been connected with an increased risk of breast cancer, but this has been contested. At this time the American Thyroid Association recommends that, if indicated, hypothyroid patients should take their thyroid hormone medication. Hyperthyroidism has been associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer. Also, in hyperthyroid patients with inoperable breast cancer, the malignant growth is thought to be slowed. However, this, too has been disputed. Moreover, hyperthyroidism has been connected with the development of breast cancer in premenopausal women. At present no role of thyroid hormone in the pathobiology of breast cancer can be defined. It seems that the “thyroid-breast cancer controversy” can only be resolved by a prospective study preferably on postmenopausal women correlating thyroid (T3, T4, PBI), pituitary (TSH, TRH, Prolactin), and adrenocortical (androgens) function tests with the clinical examination of thyroid, breast, and genital apparatus and determination of the estrogen status (vaginal smear, plasma estrogens) as well.
PMID: 362055 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]