Assess Vitamin D Levels in Those With & Without Thyroid Cancer

The Relationship Between Vitamin D and Thyroid Cancer

The purpose of this study is to evaluate Vitamin D levels in thyroid cancer patients with active disease compared with thyroid cancer patients in remission and patients with thyroid nodules.

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine related malignancy, increasing in incidence in recent years. There are relatively few, well known factors, both genetic and environmental, which predispose to the development of thyroid cancer. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with other cancers, but the association between vitamin D and thyroid cancer is unknown. We plan to do a case control, pilot study to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D levels and thyroid nodules, thyroid cancer in remission, and active thyroid cancer.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Cases: History of Papillary, Follicular, Follicular Variant of Papillary, or Hurthle cell thyroid cancer (both active disease and in remission).
• Controls: Individuals with a thyroid nodule, matched to cases for age, BMI, season of vitamin D measurement.
• Participating in University of Nebraska Medical Center Thyroid Tumor and Cancer Collaborative Registry database.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pregnant or breast feeding women
• Medullary thyroid cancer
• Anaplastic thyroid cancer