ORIGINAL ARTICLE - ANTITHYROID ANTIBODY LEVELS IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER

Breast cancer is a hormone-dependent neoplasm. Conflicting results regarding the clinical correlation between breast cancer and thyroid diseases have been reported. The aim of this study was to determine the goiter prevalence, thyroid hormones and antithyroid antibody levels in patients with breast cancer. For this purpose, thyroid ultrasonography was performed and serum levels of free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO ab) and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (anti-TG ab) were determined in 50 operable breast cancer patients at the time of diagnosis and 30 healthy individuals as control group. Goiter prevalence was found to be significantly higher in the study group (50% vs 10%). FT3, FT4, and TSH levels of patients were not different compared to controls, whereas anti-TPO ab and anti-TG ab levels were significantly higher in patients than in the control group. In conclusion, goiter prevalence and thyroid antibody levels were found to be increased in breast cancer patients and thyroid functions should be monitored

The management of gout in different clinical specialties in Turkey: a patient-based survey

Although gout is potentially curable, the management of this disease is often suboptimal. In this study, we investigated the treatment of gout in Turkey and also compared the management approaches to gout in different clinical specialties. Three hundred and nineteen consecutive patients (mean age 58.60 ± 12.8 years; 44 females, 275 males) were included in this multicenter study. A standardized form was generated to collect data about the patient’s first admission to health care, the specialty of the doctor first diagnosed the gout, the treatment options for gout including attack management, patient referral, chronic treatment including medical treatment, and life style modifications. Forty patients were referred to another center without any treatment (12.8 %), and referral rate is most common among the primary care physicians (28.8 %). Colchicine was more commonly used for attack prophylaxis than allopurinol. Ninety-two patients had never been treated with allopurinol (28.8 %). Allopurinol prescription was less common among the primary care physicians and orthopedists, and highest among the rheumatologists. Recommendation of diet and life style modifications was less common among the primary care physicians and orthopedists, and highest among the rheumatologists. The rates of life style modification recommendation and long-term allopurinol prescription were 83.7 and 77.6 %, respectively, among the rheumatologists. Both acute and chronic management of gout is suboptimal in Turkey especially among the primary care physicians and orthopedists. Moreover, chronic treatment is even suboptimal among rheumatologists. © 2016, International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR)