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Benign breast and reproductive conditions and thyroid cancer

Principal Investigator
Name
Melissa Braganza
Degrees
B.S., B.A., M.P.H.
Institution
NCI, DCEG, REB
Position Title
CRTA Fellow
Email
About this CDAS Project
Study
PLCO (Learn more about this study)
Project ID
PLCO-2
Initial CDAS Request Approval
Nov 20, 2012
Title
Benign breast and reproductive conditions and thyroid cancer
Summary
Although a relatively rare cancer, thyroid cancer incidence has been increasing in several countries, including the United States. [1, 2] Apart from a few established risk factors (being female, exposure to ionizing radiation, medical history of benign thyroid disease), little is known about the etiology of thyroid cancer. [3] Incidence of thyroid cancer is considerably higher in women than men, suggesting that there may be a separate risk factor for women. Two previous studies [4, 5] reported a clear, positive association between benign breast disease and thyroid cancer risk in the U.S. Radiologic Technologists and NIH-AARP Diet and Health cohorts. We plan to examine medical history of benign or fibrocystic breast disease and other benign female health conditions (benign ovarian tumor or cyst, endometriosis, uterine fibroid tumors) in relation to thyroid cancer risk in the PLCO cohort.
Aims

We plan to investigate the association between benign or fibrocystic breast disease, benign ovarian tumor or cyst, endometriosis, and uterine fibroids and risk of thyroid cancer, total and for papillary sub-types, in the PLCO cohort. The relative risks that we observe for benign breast disease will be compared to those observed in the U.S. Radiologic Technologists and NIH-AARP Diet and Health cohorts.

Collaborators

Dr. Cari M. Kitahara, NCI
Dr. Amy Berrington de Gonzalez, NCI

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