Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Thyroid cancer

Balancing benefit and risk in TSH management of DTC

TSH-suppressive therapy and the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) was previously reported. A recent study by Pajamäki and colleagues found that patients with DTC have a higher risk of atrial fibrillation but a lower all-cause cardiovascular death rate. This study offers insights into this effect.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Haugen, B. R. et al. 2015 American Thyroid Association Management Guidelines for Adult Patients with Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: the American Thyroid Association Guidelines Task Force on Thyroid Nodules and Differentiated Thyroid Cancer. Thyroid 26, 1–133 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Diessl, S. et al. Impact of moderate versus stringent TSH suppression on survival in advanced differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Clin. Endocrinol. 76, 586–592 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Carhill, A. A. et al. Long-term outcomes following therapy in differentiated thyroid carcinoma: NTCTCS registry analysis 1987–2012. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 100, 3270–3279 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hovens, G. C. et al. Associations of serum thyrotropin concentrations with recurrence and death in differentiated thyroid cancer. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 92, 2610–2615 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Selmer, C. et al. The spectrum of thyroid disease and risk of new onset atrial fibrillation: a large population cohort study. BMJ 345, e7895 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Verburg, F. A. et al. Changes within the thyroid axis after long-term TSH-suppressive levothyroxine therapy. Clin. Endocrinol. 76, 577–581 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Verburg, F. A. et al. The thyroid axis 'setpoints' are significantly altered after long-term suppressive LT4 therapy. Horm. Metab. Res. 46, 794–799 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Pajamaki, N. et al. Long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients treated for differentiated thyroid cancer. Clin. Endocrinol. https://doi.org/10.1111/cen.13519 (2017).

  9. Verburg, F. A. et al. Life expectancy is reduced in differentiated thyroid cancer patients ≥45 years old with extensive local tumor invasion, lateral lymph node, or distant metastases at diagnosis and normal in all other DTC patients. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 98, 172–180 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Abdulrahman, R. M. et al. Both exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism and short-term overt hypothyroidism affect myocardial strain in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Thyroid 21, 471–476 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frederik A. Verburg.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

M.L. declares that he is a consultant for AstraZeneca, Bayer Healthcare, Sanofi Genzyme and Sobi and has received speaker honoraria and research support from Sanofi Genzyme, Henning and Merck. F.A.V. declares that he is a consultant for Sanofi Genzyme and has received speaker honoraria from Diasorin and Sanofi Genzyme.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Verburg, F., Luster, M. Balancing benefit and risk in TSH management of DTC. Nat Rev Endocrinol 14, 136–137 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2018.1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2018.1

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing