A pilot study of serum selenium, vitamin D, and thyrotropin concentrations in patients with thyroid cancer

Abstract

Background: Low serum selenium concentrations have been associated with a diagnosis of differentiated thyroid cancer in small studies in selenium deficient areas. We conducted a pilot study to explore associations between selenium concentrations and the diagnosis of thyroid cancer in an area of selenium sufficiency in the United States. As low 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations have been associated with several malignancies, we also examined 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.

Methods: This study was designed as a pilot study of prediagnostic selenium and 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. We identified 65 euthyroid patients at an academic medical center who were scheduled for thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer, suspicion of thyroid cancer, or nodular disease. Blood samples were obtained two to four weeks prior to thyroidectomy. Samples were analyzed for thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine, total triiodothyronine, selenium, and 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels. Concentrations of these analytes were correlated with whether the patient was diagnosed with benign or malignant disease following their thyroidectomy. In patients with thyroid cancer, the concentrations of selenium and 25-hydroxyvitamin D were correlated with various prognostic features.

Results: Although selenium concentrations were not significantly lower in patients with thyroid cancer, serum selenium concentrations were inversely correlated with disease stage (p = 0.011). There were no associations between vitamin D concentration and a diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Within the thyroid cancer patients, vitamin D concentrations were not associated with disease stage or any other prognostic features. In contrast, TSH concentrations were significantly higher in patients with thyroid cancer, and were positively correlated with the number of involved lymph nodes (p = 0.011) and disease stage (p = 0.022).

Conclusion: These data confirm the association between serum TSH and advanced thyroid cancer. In addition, they also suggest a potential association between selenium concentrations and higher thyroid cancer stage. No such association was seen for 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations. Larger prospective studies will be required to confirm this association. If confirmed, future studies would need to determine if the association is causative in nature. If causation exists, it seems likely that selenium concentrations would influence thyroid cancer development via an independent mechanism from that of TSH.

Figures

FIG. 1.

Serum selenium, vitamin D, and thyrotropin concentrations displayed according to benign diagnosis (labeled as 0) and thyroid cancer stages 1–4. The top, bottom, and line through the box correspond to the 75th percentile, 25th percentile, and 50th percentile (median), respectively. The whiskers extend from the 10th percentile to the 90th percentile. The filled square indicates the arithmetic mean.