Objective To explore the correlation between homocysteine （Hcy） level and the risk of breast cancer，and try to find a new method to reduce the risk factors and benefit for treatment of breast cancer. Methods From January2010 to December 2012， 245 cases of breast cancer （breast cancer group）， 109 cases of benign breast tumor （benign breast tumor group）， and 78 cases of healthy women （healthy control group） in the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital， who were in accordance with the inclusion criteria， were analyzed retrospectively. The difference of Hcy level was compared among three groups. Meanwhile the relation between Hcy level and patients’s age， blood glucose， serum creatinine， estrogen receptor （ER）， progesterone receptor （PR）， Ki-67 （%）， tumor diameter， or axillary lymph node status was analyzed.Results ① The Hcy level was significantly different among the breast cancer group， benign breast tumor group， and healthy control group （P＜0.001）. The Hcy level of the breast cancer group was significantly higher than those of the benignbreast tumor group （P＜0.001） or healthy control group （P＜0.001）， but the Hcy level was not significantly different bet-ween the benign breast tumor group and healthy control group （P=0.082） . ② The Hcy levels of different types of the breastcancer （type of Luminal A， Luminal B， Her-2， and triple negative） were significantly higher than those of the benign breast tumor group （except for Her-2 type， P＜0.05） or healthy control group （P＜0.05）. ③Plasma Hcy level of the patients with benign and malignant breast tumor was positively correlated with age （r=0.197， P=0.004） or serum creatinine level （r=0.381， P＜0.001）， but not correlated with blood glucose （r=0.023， P=0.668）. ④Plasma Hcy level of the patients with malignant breast tumor was positively correlated with age （r=0.267， P=0.007） or serum creatinine level （r=0.341， P＜0.001）， but not correlated with blood glucose （r=-0.005， P=0.935）， tumor diameter （r=-0.049， P=0.443）， axillary lymph node status （r=-0.006， P=0.921）， or Ki-67 （%） （rs=-0.029， P=0.650）. Conclusions Plasma Hcy level of breast cancer patient is abnormally elevated， and it may have some relation with the occurrence of breast cancer.
ObjectiveTo investigate the correlation between abnormal thyroid function and benign or malignant breast tumors. MethodsThe contents of free iodine three original acid (FT3), three iodine original acid (T3), thyroxine (T4), free thyroxine (FT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (Anti-TG), and antithyroid peroxidase antibody (Anti-TPO) were detected by chemiluminescence method in 563 patients with benign breast neoplasms, 87 patients with breast cancer, and 123 health examination population. ResultsT3 and T4 levels in patients with breast cancer were lower than those of normal control group and benign tumor group (P < 0.05). However, there were no significant difference in the levels of FT3, FT4, and TSH between the 3 groups (P > 0.05). The positive rates of Anti-TPO and Anti-TG were higher than those of benign group and normal group (P < 0.001). T3 and T4 levels in patients with breast cancer were not related to the expression of ER and PR, in Her-2 negative expression and lymph node metastasis were relatively low (P < 0.05). ConclusionThe decrease of contents of T3 and T4, and the positive expressions of Anti-TPO and Anti-TG may provide a basis for predicting the incidence of breast cancer.
ObjectiveThyroid nodules are an exceptionally common thyroid disorder. Past studies suggested a possible link between thyroid diseases and breast neoplasms. However, few studies have delved into the causal relationship between thyroid nodules and breast neoplasms. This study conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to further investigate the causal relationship between them. MethodsThis study was conducted using data sourced from genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary datasets. The study focused on thyroid nodules, benign breast tumors, and malignant breast cancers as the research objects, and relevant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected as instrumental variables (IVs). The inverse-variance weighted (IVW) was primarily used to assess the causal relationship between thyroid nodules and breast neoplasms. Cochran’s Q test was employed to detect heterogeneity, while MR-Egger intercept and MR-PRESSO were used to test for pleiotropy. Sensitivity analysis was conducted using the leave-one-out method. ResultsThere was a significant causal relationship between thyroid nodules and malignant neoplasm of breast (OR=0.88, 95%CI 0.83 to 0.95, P<0.01), with no evidence of reverse causality between them (OR=1.01, 95%CI 0.99 to 1.03, P=0.16). No causal relationship was found between thyroid nodules and benign neoplasm of breast, as indicated by both forward MR analysis (OR=0.97, 95%CI 0.89 to 1.06, P=0.51) and reverse MR analysis (OR=0.97, 95%CI 0.92 to 1.04, P=0.40). Sensitivity analyses suggested that the study findings were accurate and reliable. ConclusionThe present study identifies thyroid nodules as a potential protective factor for malignant neoplasm of breast.