World Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences

THE POSSIBLE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BREAST CANCER AND THYROID FUNCTION AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF TREATMENT ON THYROID FUNCTION AFTER CHEMORADIOTHERAPY

Abdulkareem Qasem Qasem Moqbel, Lina Jamal Abdulwase Hameed, Xin Lin and Yi-hua Sun*

ABSTRACT

Breast cancer (BC) is the most prevalent type of cancer in women worldwide. Chemotherapy and radiation can synergistically affect thyroid tissue and cause an inflammatory change in endothelial cells. The combination of chemotherapy and concurrent radiation therapy increases the thyroid susceptibility to the effects of the treatment, which increases the risk of thyroid damage and hypothyroidism (HT). This treatment method kills not only malignant breast cells but also harms healthy cells and inevitably irradiates the organs and tissues far from the treatment site. This means that radiation?induced thyroid toxicities after breast supraclavicular (SCV) radiotherapy with/without chemotherapy may impact thyroid dysfunction, such as HT, and the quality of life in cancer survivors. This review summarizes the available data on the possible association of BC with thyroid function and autoimmunity thyroid and the main focus on the consequences of SCV breast radiation on thyroid function with or without chemotherapy. Although the thyroid and breast are hormone-sensitive organs linked to endocrine dysfunction and glandular illness, understanding the mechanisms underlying the link between thyroid function and BC is still elusive. Additionally, the literature results revealed that thyroid function and TSH levels might alter in BC patients with decreased FT3 and FT4 levels after chemoradiotherapy. This review suggests an increasing probability of HT among breast cancer survivors, particularly in those who received radiation therapy to the SCV region together with/without chemotherapy. We recommend employing a more precise technique to lower thyroid dose in order to decrease the probability of HT. After breast cancer chemoradiotherapy, routine thyroid function monitoring with periodic TSH tests. A future prospective study should include high sample size and long-term follow-up.

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