Risk factors for thyroid cancer in women

Abstract

Background: Thyroid cancer is relatively rare, but it is the most frequent cancer among malignancies of the endocrine system. To evaluate the association between thyroid cancer and potential risk factors. Material and methods: A case-control study was conducted in Central Serbia, Yugoslavia. The case group consisted of 100 newly diagnosed patients with histologically confirmed thyroid cancer. The controls (100 patients with injuries) were individually matched with cases by sex, age and place of residence. McNemar's test and conditional logistic regression were used in the analysis. Results: According to logistic regression analysis the following factors were independently related with the occurrence of thyroid cancer: diagnostic X- ray during childhood and/or youth goiter, history of residence in endemic goiter area, anemia in personal history, history of previous malignant tumors, family history of any malignant tumor, spontaneous abortion and use of oral contraceptives. Conclusion: The present study supports the hypothesis that besides other risk factors, thyroid cancer in women is affected by some reproductive and probably hormonal factors.