Retrospective analysis of postmenopausal patients with hyperthyroidism and possible association with lung cancer in a Primary Health Care Setting in Western Greece

Abstract

The role of thyroid hormones when circulating at high levels has been shown to have an estrogen-like effect. Estrogens play an important role in lung carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was the retrospective analysis of the laboratory results of postmenopausal women with hyperthyroidism and simultaneous measurement of the tumor marker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and the possible correlation of the findings with lung cancer. The data of the patients who met the above criteria were collected retrospectively from the Microbiological Department of a Primary Health Care Setting in Western Greece for the years 2018, 2019, 2020. Nine patients met the study criteria, and of them one was diagnosed with lung cancer. This study does not indicate direct cause-effect correlation. However, increased vigilance for lung neoplasm in postmenopausal female patients with hyperthyroidism may be an additional auxiliary tool in the assessment and early diagnosis of these patients especially in a Primary Health Care Setting.