Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42506418›Full record

ReviewMetabolites2026

Thyroid Hormone Treatment and Breast Cancer Risk in Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

Stylianos Kopanos, Jasper David Feldkamp, Johanna Tyssen, Xinjun Li, Kristina Sundquist, Carolina Pape-Köhler, Marcel Binnebösel, Annika Hoyer, Per Wändell, Joachim Feldkamp

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Metabolites, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Stylianos KopanosAcademic Department of General Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Infectiology, Medical School and University Medical Center East Westphalia-Lippe, Bielefeld University, 33604 Bielefeld, Germany.
Jasper David FeldkampDivision of Hematology, Oncology, and Cancer Immunology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Institute of Health, 10117 Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0009-0008-9242-1959
Johanna TyssenAcademic Department of General Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Infectiology, Medical School and University Medical Center East Westphalia-Lippe, Bielefeld University, 33604 Bielefeld, Germany.ORCID 0009-0000-2062-031X
Xinjun LiCenter for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, 202 13 Malmö, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-5559-4657
Kristina SundquistCenter for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, 202 13 Malmö, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-8031-279X
Carolina Pape-KöhlerKlinikum Bielefeld-Rosenhöhe, Bariatric Clinic, 33647 Bielefeld, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1032-8953
Marcel BinneböselAcademic Department of Surgery, Klinikum Bielefeld, Medical School and University Medical Centre East Westphalia-Lippe, Bielefeld University, 33604 Bielefeld, Germany.
Annika HoyerBiostatistics and Medical Biometry, Medical School OWL, Bielefeld University, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-0241-9951
Per WändellDivision of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, 141 57 Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-5169-2965
Joachim FeldkampAcademic Department of General Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Infectiology, Medical School and University Medical Center East Westphalia-Lippe, Bielefeld University, 33604 Bielefeld, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5216-3851

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThyroid hormone treatment is the standard therapy for hypothyroidism, particularly in women. Concerns have been raised that exogenous thyroid hormone use may increase breast cancer risk, but evidence remains inconclusive. This study aimed to systematically review and synthesize observational evidence on the association between thyroid hormone treatment and breast cancer risk in women.

designWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

methodsMEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched from January 1976 to February 2025. Eligible studies assessed breast cancer incidence in adult women receiving thyroid hormone treatment versus non-users. Pooled ORs were calculated. Findings from cohort studies reporting hazard ratios were synthesized qualitatively. Heterogeneity, publication bias, and certainty of evidence were assessed. PROSPERO ID: CRD42022348966.

resultsFour case-control studies including 221,254 women receiving thyroid hormone treatment and 4,385,666 controls were included in the prespecified primary OR-based meta-analysis. In the primary random-effects meta-analysis, thyroid hormone treatment showed a possible epidemiological signal with breast cancer risk (OR 1.43, 95% CI: 0.90-2.28; I

conclusionsThyroid hormone treatment was associated with a possible epidemiological signal for breast cancer in observational studies; however, the primary pooled estimate was not statistically significant and should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating because of substantial heterogeneity and residual confounding. Further well-designed prospective studies are required before causal or clinical inferences can be made.

Indexed as

breast cancerhypothyroidismlevothyroxinemeta-analysissystematic reviewthyroid hormone treatment

Identifiers

PMID42506418
PMCPMC13413771

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.