Lupus v Thyroid cancer

[Sylviamoore42]

Hi there, I am a 50 year old male recently diagnosed with nephrotic lupus SLE. I have nephrotic syndrome which is only settling down from February. I still leak a lot of protein. As a result of the lupus I have a lot more medical issues because of this. I have AF, diabetes because of the steroids and an aortic regurgitation. As if that wasn't enough 2 weeks ago I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and trying to see if there are any potential links between lupus and thyroid cancer!!

LM

[poseymint]

Hello, I had thyroid cancer in 2001. Doctor found a lump on my thyroid and cancer was diagnosed from a biopsy. I had my thyroid removed with a dose of radioactive iodine. It wasn't a bad surgery, a fairly easy recovery- not painful. I have not had anymore cancer issues. I take daily thyroid hormone replacement.

Also I have had auto-immune issues since 2006- ITP Immune Thrombocytopenia. I have been treating with drugs since 2009. This year I was also diagnosed with Lupus, Sjogrens, RA. ITP often goes along with Lupus. But not sure if there is a connection to thyroid cancer. ?good question though!

[Sylviamoore42]

Thank you for that. I just wondered because it seems very coincidenctal. My lupus was diagnosed because I had a lot of oedema and they thought I had cardiac failure. Many investigations later, heart issues were ruled out, and a kidney biopsy was ordered. Diagnosis made, then the fun started. I had fluid overload for quite some time. I was started on steroids and cellcept. A year later and I'm only coming out of the flare up. Then the heart issues,diabetes and now thyroid cancer! You kinda wonder don't you

[Sylviamoore42 in reply to Sylviamoore42]

I developed a goitre while I was an inpatient with my lupus. They said that it was probably the high dose of steroids I was on but decided to scan me just in case. I then had to get a fine needle aspiration. The results were inconclusive so a second one was carried out and again inconclusive. The consultant said that this can happen.

[hayley3]

Lupus and thyroid issues do go together. I believe that I had Hashimoto's at one time but now all I have is an enlarged aching thyroid. My daughter was officially dx'd with Hashimoto's but now her labs are normal. My labs showed I was hyperthyroid at one time. The funny thing is how your thyroid can be so messed up but the lab tests are normal. I worry about my thyroid becoming cancerous because it is growing.

Can I ask, did your lab work come back abnormal or was there another reason they checked your thyroid?

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK]

Hi Sylviamoore42 ,

I am sorry to hear that you have now been diagnosed with thyroid cancer on top of your other health concerns.

There have been a number of studies which tried to establish whether there is a link between lupus and thyroid cancer - these have had inconsistent results. This meta analysis, looking at results from many studies suggests that there is an increased risk of this type of cancer in people with lupus, although the study has some limitations - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Sylviamoore42 in reply to Paul_Howard]

Thanks for the reply, I was just wondering as I've had so many issues since being diagnosed with lupus in February