Skip to main content
Log in

Is prophylactic anti-resorptive therapy required in thyroid cancer patients receiving TSH-suppressive treatment with thyroxine?

  • Opinion
  • Published:
Journal of Endocrinological Investigation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

References

  1. Cooper DS, Specker B, Ho M, Sperling M, Ladenson PW, Ross DS, Ain KB, Bigos ST, Brierley JD, Haugen BR, Klein I, Robbins J, Sherman SI, Taylor T, Maxon HR 3rd (1998) Thyrotropin suppression and disease progression in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer: results from the National Thyroid Cancer Treatment Cooperative Registry. Thyroid 8(9):737–744

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Biondi B, Wartofsky L (2014) Treatment with thyroid hormone. Endocr Rev 35(3):433–512

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Cooper DS, Doherty GM, Haugen BR, Kloos RT, Lee SL, Mandel SJ, Mazzaferri EL, McIver B, Pacini F, Schlumberger M, Sherman SI, Steward DL, Tuttle RM (2009) Revised American Thyroid Association management guidelines for patients with thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancer. Thyroid 19(11):1167–1214

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Perros P, Boelaert K, Colley S, Evans C, Evans RM, Gerrard G, Gilbert J, Harrison B, Johnson SJ, Giles TE, Moss L, Lewington V, Newbold K, Taylor J, Thakker RV, Watkinson J, Williams GR (2014) British Thyroid Association Guidelines for the Management of Thyroid Cancer. Clin Endocrinol 81(suppl 1):1–112

  5. Waung JA, Bassett JH, Williams GR (2012) Thyroid hormone metabolism in skeletal development and adult bone maintenance. Trends Endocrinol Metab 23(4):155–162

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Eriksen EF, Mosekilde L, Melsen F (1986) Kinetics of trabecular bone resorption and formation in hypothyroidism: evidence for a positive balance per remodeling cycle. Bone 7(2):101–108

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Bauer DC, Ettinger B, Nevitt MC, Stone KL (2001) Risk for fracture in women with low serum levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone. Ann Intern Med 134(7):561–568

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Flynn RW, Bonellie SR, Jung RT, MacDonald TM, Morris AD, Leese GP (2010) Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone concentration and morbidity from cardiovascular disease and fractures in patients on long-term thyroxine therapy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 95(1):186–193

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Vestergaard P, Mosekilde L (2002) Fractures in patients with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism: a nationwide follow-up study in 16,249 patients. Thyroid 12(5):411–419

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Vestergaard P, Rejnmark L, Mosekilde L (2005) Influence of hyper- and hypothyroidism, and the effects of treatment with antithyroid drugs and levothyroxine on fracture risk. Calcif Tiss Int 77(3):139–144

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Murphy E, Gluer CC, Reid DM, Felsenberg D, Roux C, Eastell R, Williams GR (2010) Thyroid function within the upper normal range is associated with reduced bone mineral density and an increased risk of nonvertebral fractures in healthy euthyroid postmenopausal women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 95(7):3173–3181

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. van Rijn LE, Pop VJ, Williams GR (2014) Low bone mineral density is related to high physiological levels of free thyroxine in peri-menopausal women. Eur J Endocrinol 170(3):461–468

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Quan ML, Pasieka JL, Rorstad O (2002) Bone mineral density in well-differentiated thyroid cancer patients treated with suppressive thyroxine: a systematic overview of the literature. J Surg Oncol 79(1):62–69

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Murphy E, Williams GR (2004) The thyroid and the skeleton. Clin Endocrinol 61(3):285–298

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Heemstra KA, Hamdy NA, Romijn JA, Smit JW (2006) The effects of thyrotropin-suppressive therapy on bone metabolism in patients with well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Thyroid 16(6):583–591

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Faber J, Galloe AM (1994) Changes in bone mass during prolonged subclinical hyperthyroidism due to L-thyroxine treatment: a meta-analysis. Eur J Endocrinol 130(4):350–356

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Uzzan B, Campos J, Cucherat M, Nony P, Boissel JP, Perret GY (1996) Effects on bone mass of long term treatment with thyroid hormones: a meta-analysis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 81(12):4278–4289

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Abrahamsen B, Jorgensen HL, Laulund AS, Nybo M, Brix TH, Hegedus L (2014) Low serum thyrotropin level and duration of suppression as a predictor of major osteoporotic fractures—the OPENTHYRO Register Cohort. J Bone Miner Res. doi:10.1002/jbmr.2244

    Google Scholar 

  19. Hippisley-Cox J, Coupland C (2012) Derivation and validation of updated QFracture algorithm to predict risk of osteoporotic fracture in primary care in the United Kingdom: prospective open cohort study. BMJ 344:e3427. doi:10.1136/bmj.e3427

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Kanis JA, Hans D, Cooper C, Baim S, Bilezikian JP, Binkley N, Cauley JA, Compston JE, Dawson-Hughes B, El-Hajj Fuleihan G, Johansson H, Leslie WD, Lewiecki EM, Luckey M, Oden A, Papapoulos SE, Poiana C, Rizzoli R, Wahl DA, McCloskey EV (2011) Interpretation and use of FRAX in clinical practice. Osteoporosis Int 22(9):2395–2411

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Balena R, Markatos A, Gentile M, Masarachia P, Seedor JG, Rodan GA, Yamamoto M (1993) The aminobisphosphonate alendronate inhibits bone loss induced by thyroid hormone in the rat. Comparison between effects on tibiae and vertebrae. Bone 14(3):499–504

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Rosen HN, Sullivan EK, Middlebrooks VL, Zeind AJ, Gundberg C, Dresner-Pollak R, Maitland LA, Hock JM, Moses AC, Greenspan SL (1993) Parenteral pamidronate prevents thyroid hormone-induced bone loss in rats. J Bone Miner Res 8(10):1255–1261

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Yamamoto M, Markatos A, Seedor JG, Masarachia P, Gentile M, Rodan GA, Balena R (1993) The effects of the aminobisphosphonate alendronate on thyroid hormone-induced osteopenia in rats. Calcif Tiss Int 53(4):278–282

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Zeni S, Gomez-Acotto C, Mautalen C (2001) Do different aminobisphosphonates have similar preventive effect on experimental thyroid hormone-induced osteopenia in rats? Calcif Tiss Int 69(5):305–310

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Lupoli G, Nuzzo V, Di Carlo C, Affinito P, Vollery M, Vitale G, Cascone E, Arlotta F, Nappi C (1996) Effects of alendronate on bone loss in pre- and postmenopausal hyperthyroid women treated with methimazole. Gynecol Endocrinol 10(5):343–348

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Lupoli GA, Fittipaldi MR, Fonderico F, Panico A, Colarusso S, Di Micco L, Cavallo A, Costa L, Paglione A, Lupoli G (2005) Methimazole versus methimazole and diphosphonates in hyperthyroid and osteoporotic patients. Minerva Endocrinol 30(2):89–94

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Yang LJ, Shen FX, Zheng JC, Zhang HL (2012) Clinical application of alendronate for osteoporosis/osteopenia secondary to hyperthyroidism. China J Orthop Traumatol 25(2):133–137

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Panebianco P, Rosso D, Destro G, Scarpinato RA, Tropea S, Rizzo A, Russo MS, Motta M, Di Stefano F, Mazzarella R, Maugeri D (1997) Use of disphosphonates in the treatment of osteoporosis in thyroidectomized patients on levothyroxin replacement therapy. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 25(2):219–225

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Panico A, Lupoli GA, Fonderico F, Marciello F, Martinelli A, Assante R, Lupoli G (2009) Osteoporosis and thyrotropin-suppressive therapy: reduced effectiveness of alendronate. Thyroid 19(5):437–442

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Eriksen EF, Diez-Perez A, Boonen S (2014) Update on long-term treatment with bisphosphonates for postmenopausal osteoporosis: a systematic review. Bone 58:126–135

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Black DM, Delmas PD, Eastell R, Reid IR, Boonen S, Cauley JA, Cosman F, Lakatos P, Leung PC, Man Z, Mautalen C, Mesenbrink P, Hu H, Caminis J, Tong K, Rosario-Jansen T, Krasnow J, Hue TF, Sellmeyer D, Eriksen EF, Cummings SR, Trial HPF (2007) Once-yearly zoledronic acid for treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. N Engl J Med 356(18):1809–1822

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Black DM, Reid IR, Boonen S, Bucci-Rechtweg C, Cauley JA, Cosman F, Cummings SR, Hue TF, Lippuner K, Lakatos P, Leung PC, Man Z, Martinez RL, Tan M, Ruzycky ME, Su G, Eastell R (2012) The effect of 3 versus 6 years of zoledronic acid treatment of osteoporosis: a randomized extension to the HORIZON-Pivotal Fracture Trial (PFT). J Bone Miner Res 27(2):243–254

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Sharma A, Einstein AJ, Vallakati A, Arbab-Zadeh A, Walker MD, Mukherjee D, Homel P, Borer JS, Lichstein E (2014) Risk of atrial fibrillation with use of oral and intravenous bisphosphonates. Am J Cardiol 113(11):1815–1821

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

Graham R. Williams declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Graham R. Williams.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Williams, G.R. Is prophylactic anti-resorptive therapy required in thyroid cancer patients receiving TSH-suppressive treatment with thyroxine?. J Endocrinol Invest 37, 775–779 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-014-0110-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-014-0110-9

Keywords

Navigation