Risk of cancer in long‐term levothyroxine users: Retrospective population‐based study

Levothyroxine is a widely prescribed medication for the treatment of an underactive thyroid. The relationship between levothyroxine use and cancer risk is largely underdetermined. To investigate the magnitude of the possible association between levothyroxine use and cancer risk, this retrospective c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cancer science 2021-06, Vol.112 (6), p.2533-2541
Main Authors: Wu, Chieh‐Chen, Islam, Md. Mohaimenul, Nguyen, Phung‐Anh, Poly, Tahmina Nasrin, Wang, Ching‐Huan, Iqbal, Usman, Li, Yu‐Chuan (Jack), Yang, Hsuan‐Chia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
association research
Breast cancer
Cancer
cancer risk
Cancer therapies
Care and treatment
case‐control study
Chronic illnesses
Comorbidity
Drug dosages
Health care
Health insurance
Hypothyroidism
Kidney diseases
levothyroxine
Liver diseases
long‐term drug use
Medical diagnosis
National health insurance
Oncology, Experimental
Original
Oxidative stress
Pancreatic cancer
Patients
Population studies
Population-based studies
Regression analysis
Risk factors
Skin cancer
Thyroid
Thyroid gland
Thyroxine
Ulcers
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Summary:Levothyroxine is a widely prescribed medication for the treatment of an underactive thyroid. The relationship between levothyroxine use and cancer risk is largely underdetermined. To investigate the magnitude of the possible association between levothyroxine use and cancer risk, this retrospective case‐control study was conducted using Taiwan’s Health and Welfare Data Science Center database. Cases were defined as all patients who were aged ≥20 years and had a first‐time diagnosis for cancer at any site for the period between 2001 and 2011. Multivariable conditional logistic regression models were used to calculate an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) to reduce potential confounding factors. A total of 601 733 cases and 2 406 932 controls were included in the current study. Levothyroxine users showed a 50% higher risk of cancer at any site (AOR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.46‐1.54; P 
ISSN:1347-9032
1349-7006
DOI:10.1111/cas.14908