Impact of thyroid cancer on the cancer risk in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or dyslipidemia

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by nayy☆

Rising obesity prevalence increases metabolic diseases such as dyslipidemia and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), alongside higher incidence of multiple cancers, including thyroid cancer. This study assessed whether thyroid cancer in patients with dyslipidemia or NAFLD predicts risk of other cancers by analyzing two independent cohorts from South Korea (institutional and National Health Insurance System) with ICD-10 exact matching and risk estimation. Hazard ratios for other cancers were elevated after thyroid cancer, with significant increases across several cancer sites.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Study design and cohorts

Risk estimation and statistical analysis

Results

[www. nature.com/scientificreports](www. nature.com/scientificreports) OPEN Impact of thyroid cancer on the cancer risk in patients with non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease or dyslipidemia Joon Ho1,5, Eunhwa Kim2,5, Myeongjee Lee2, Inkyung Jung3*, Young Suk Jo4* & Jandee Lee1* The raised prevalence of obesity has increased the incidence of obesity‑related metabolic diseases such as dyslipidemia (DL) and non‑alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), along with the development and progression of various types of cancer, including thyroid cancer. In this study, we investigated whether thyroid cancer in patients with DL and NAFLD could be a risk factor for other cancers. To achieve our goal, we generated two independent cohorts from our institution and from the National Health Insurance System in South Korea. Based on the ICD‑10 code, we conducted exact matching (1:5 matching) and estimated the overall risk of thyroid cancer for other cancers in patients with DL or NAFLD. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the hazard ratio (HR) of thyroid cancer was 2.007 (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.597–2.522) and 2.092 (95% CI, 1.546–2.829), respectively in the institutional cohort and 1.329 (95% CI, 1.153–1.533) and 1.301 (95% CI, 1.115–1.517), respectively in the nationwide cohort. Risk analysis revealed a significant increase in the HR in lip, tongue, mouth, lung, bone, joint, soft tissue, skin, brain, male cancers and lymphoma after thyroid cancer occurred. Thyroid cancer in patients with DL or NAFLD might be a valuable factor for predicting the development of other cancers. The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide over the past few decades. This increase in obesity causes various obesity-related metabolic diseases such as dyslipidemia (DL), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and diabetes. Furthermore, obesity is associated with the risk of certain types of malignancies, including breast cancer, colon cancer, and liver cancer. Because of the high prevalence of obesity-related metabolic diseases and cancer, it is frequently observed that these diseases and cancers occur in succession at different times in the same patients1–4. It is known that obesity-related metabolic diseases contribute to the development and progression of cancers. For example, NAFLD can cause malignant tumors such as hepatocellular carcinoma5–7. Several studies have reported that DL increases the risk of cancers, such as non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer8,9. Rice et al.10 reported that high cholesterol status is associated with the risk of developing prostate cancer. Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine cancer, and the number of patients with thyroid cancer worldwide has rapidly increased over the past 20 years11–15. Although this increase has been caused by the introduction of high-sensitivity ultrasound to population-based screening, an association between thyroid cancer and obesity has also been suggested in terms of the etiological aspect16–20. Furthermore, patients with DL and thyroid cancer simultaneously, showed a higher risk of second primary cancer than patients with thyroid cancer and no DL did. As patients with thyroid cancer usually have a good prognosis, characterized by a long survival period, and the age at diagnosis is relatively younger than that of patients with other types of malignancies, the issue related to second primary cancer is particularly important. Recent population-based studies have suggested that the risk of second primary cancer is higher in survivors of thyroid cancer than in the general population21–23. 1Open NBI Convergence Technology Research Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. 2Biostatistics Collaboration Unit, Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. 3Division of Biostatistics, Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Yonsei University Colleg

FAQs

What was the main research question of the study?

Whether thyroid cancer in patients with dyslipidemia or NAFLD serves as a risk factor for developing other primary cancers.

How were the patient cohorts constructed and matched?

Two independent cohorts were used—an institutional cohort and a nationwide Korean database—with ICD-10 exact matching using 1:5 matching.

What statistical measures were used to estimate cancer risk?

Univariate and multivariate analyses estimated hazard ratios (HRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals for risk of other cancers.

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by nayy☆