Thyroid Disorders—Assessments of Trace Elements, Clinical, and Laboratory Parameters

Abstract

The trace elements studied in this work (Se, Cu, Zn) are the essential constituents or cofactors required to activate numerous enzymes and proteins, playing crucial role in various physiological processes. The disturbed levels of abovementioned elements may adversely affect the endocrine system, resulting in various thyroid disorders among other upsets. The aim of this study was to investigate possible associations between them and parameters of redox balance, thyroid function indices as well as clinical records (duration of disease and therapy, lag time between thyroid surgery and this study examination, LT4 dosage) in patients with different thyroid disorders, including malignant diseases of the gland. In the group of patients with papillary carcinoma, we found a statistically significant higher Cu concentration compared with controls and patients with Hashimoto disease. In the same groups, the parameter of Zn/Cu ratio demonstrated reciprocally arranged statistically significant differences. For the group of papillary cancer patients, there was a negative correlation between lag time since thyroid operation and GPX3 activity. Our data support hypothesis of indirect involvement of Zn and Cu in thyroid regulation. For selenium, lack of simple correlation between its serum level and thyroid indices implies the need for further research on other selenium status parameters more adequately depicting changes in endocrine system.

Changes in the Serum Levels of Trace Elements Before and After the Operation in Thyroid Cancer Patients

“…Copper metabolism in the blood and tissues has already been shown to change in thyroid diseases [23]. Additionally, thyroid cancer patients were reported to have elevated blood copper concentrations [12,24] and iron deficiency was reported to alter copper levels in the rat brain tissue [10]. Elevated serum copper levels we found in our study are consistent with the results of the studies cited above.…”

Serum and Tissue Zinc in Epithelial Malignancies: A Meta-Analysis

“…One study showed significant elevation [107], the other showed significant decrease [105] and third, ranked as high quality [106], found no significant differences. No publication bias was observed.…”

The role of selenium in thyroid gland pathophysiology

“…In many studies on animal models, as well as in epidemiological and interventional surveys, beneficial effects were confirmed of normal or even increased serum selenium concentrations on the initiation, progression, and even metastases of various cancer types but not of thyroid cancer [50,102]. The relationship between selenium supplementation and the incidence of thyroid cancer has been verified in many clinical studies (Table I); however, it has not been unequivocally confirmed, especially in the Polish population [103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111]. The access to mainly retrospective data, the relatively small groups of patients, and the short observation periods, as well as only single assays of selenium concentration levels, were all significant limitations in the performed studies.…”

“…W wielu badaniach na modelach zwierzęcych oraz epidemiologicznych i interwencyjnych stwierdzono korzystny wpływ prawidłowych, a nawet podwyższonych stężeń selenu w surowicy na inicjację, progresję, a nawet przerzuty różnych rodzajów nowotworów, ale nie raka tarczycy [50,102]. Związek pomiędzy zaopatrzeniem w selen i występowaniem raka tarczycy został zweryfikowany w wielu badaniach klinicznych (Tabela I) i w metaanalizie, jednakże nie został jednoznacznie potwierdzony, zwłaszcza w polskiej populacji [103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111]. Dostęp głównie do danych retrospektywnych, relatywnie małe grupy pacjentów i krótki czas obserwacji oraz pojedyncze oznaczenia zaopatrzenia w selen stanowią istotne ograniczenia przeprowadzonych badań.…”