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Association of thyroid cancer risk with plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and vitamin D binding protein: a case–control study in China

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Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the association of thyroid cancer (TC) with 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and vitamin D binding protein (DBP) and examine whether there was an interaction between 25(OH)D and DBP in relation to TC risk.

Methods

A matched case–control study based on multiple hospitals included 506 pairs of cases with newly diagnosed TC and controls. All subjects were divided into the quartiles according to the distribution of 25(OH)D and DBP in controls. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association of TC with 25(OH)D and DBP were estimated by conditional logistic regression.

Results

Comparing the highest to lowest quartiles, a decreased TC risk was respectively associated with plasma 25(OH)D (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.40–1.00, P-trend = 0.046) and DBP (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.32–0.77, P-trend = 0.001). However, the association between DBP and TC might be modified by 25(OH)D (P-interaction = 0.014) and physical activity (P-interaction = 0.017). Compared to participants with 25(OH)D and DBP concentrations respectively below medians, those with both concentrations above medians had a lower risk of TC (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.39–0.82). In stratified analysis based on clinical characteristics of tumor, significantly negative association between 25(OH)D, and DBP and TC were observed among the cases with early stage of tumor progression.

Conclusions

This study suggested that 25(OH)D and DBP had protective effects against TC. But the negative association between TC and DBP might be modified by 25(OH)D and physical activity.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number: 81373071); the Project for Anhui Province Academic Technology Leader Reserve Candidates’ Academic Research Activities (Grant number: 2017H108); and the Project for Top Disciplinary Talents of Majors in Universities of Anhui Province (Grant number: gxbjZD09).

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Author notes

  1. Ming-Jun Hu and Qing-Shan Niu contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Shushan District, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, China

    M.-J. Hu, Q.-S. Niu, H.-B. Wu, X.-L. Lu, L. Wang & Fen Huang

  2. Second Department of Clinical Medicine, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Shushan District, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, China

    X.-R. Tong

  3. Central Laboratory of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Shushan District, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, China

    Fen Huang

  4. Laboratory for Environmental Toxicology, Anhui Medical University, No. 81 Meishan Road, Shushan District, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, China

    Fen Huang

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Contributions

M-JH and Q-SN contributed to developing study methodology, analysis, measurement of biosamples and writing the manuscript. H-BW, X-L L, LW, X-RT coordinated to collection and measurement of biosamples. FH (the manuscript’s guarantor) contributed to the study design, quality control and revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fen Huang.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Anhui Medical University Biomedical Ethics Committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Hu, MJ., Niu, QS., Wu, HB. et al. Association of thyroid cancer risk with plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and vitamin D binding protein: a case–control study in China. J Endocrinol Invest 43, 799–808 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40618-019-01167-7

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