Thyroid drug reduces colon cancer risk by 50%

Israel21c ^

[ddtorquee]

A joint US-Israeli research project has discovered that the drug L-thyroxin, most commonly used for the treatment of an underactive thyroid, can halve the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Scientists from the two countries announced at the current meeting of the American Association Cancer Research - Prevention Branch in Baltimore.

"The effect was pretty dramatic," Professor Gad Rennert of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion Institute of Science, the head of the team, said at the conference. However, he added, "we have yet to understand the mechanisms. The literature on the subject is very minimal, but the finding is very strong. It is robust."

The research was the continuation of a long-term collaboration between Rennert and Professor Stephen Gruber and the departments of Internal Medicine, Epidemiology and Human Genetics at the University of Michigan. The research partnership between Rennert and Gruber - which began in 1998 - has done much to provide the medical community with insights into the nature of CRC.

CRC, which affects large parts of the digestive system, is the second most common cause of cancer death in the US, with over 145,000 new cases reported each year and the cause of about 56,000 deaths expected in the US during 2005.

CRC, especially right-sided colon cancer, is known to be associated with a higher incidence of thyroid cancer. It is also known that an under active thyroid (hypothyroidism) impairs the function of the colon possibly leading to an increased risk of the development of CRC. Laboratory work has identified that there are important links between thyroid hormones and the processes that lead to the formation of cancerous colon cells.

[Sweetjustusnow]

This is good news if the data is correct. I take this medication for my own hypothyroidism.

[jimtorr]

To bad Tapazole, the common drug for a hyperactive thyroid, doesn't have the same effect. I have a hyperactive thyroid and have had CRC.