Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: According to the literature, there is a link between obesity and thyroid cancer. A high body mass index (BMI) increases the risk of thyroid cancer and its progression, although their mechanism is still unknown.

Objective: To evaluate the association between obesity and the clinical-biological profile of differentiated thyroid cancers.

Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective study carried out in the Endocrinology Department of Ibn Rochd University Hospital of Casablanca concerning the patients followed for a differentiated thyroid carcinoma between January 2010 and January 2019. The patients were divided into 2 groups: G1 having an obesity (62 cases), and G2 control (120 cases), by comparing the clinical-biological data and the evolutionary profile of the 2 groups.

Results: 182 patients were included in our study. The average age was 35±6.5 years with a female predominance (sex Ratio F/H: 4.6). The average BMI was 28.5 kg/m². Papillary carcinoma was the predominant histological type (89.4%), classified as high risk in 34% of cases. Over an average follow-up of 4.8 years, in the obese group, 49% were in remission (Tg <1 μg/l, negative antithyroglobulin antibody and no morphological abnormality), 24% in persistent disease (detectable Tg and/or morphological abnormality), without a significant difference between the 2 groups (P=0.72). The analytical study showed that prognostic factors: tumor size, multifocality, capsular invasion and distant metastases were not significantly elevated in the obese group compared to the control group (P>0.54). only the presence of vascular emboli was strongly associated with obesity (P<0.005).

Conclusion: The significant association between obesity and the presence of vascular emboli during thyroid cancer increases its aggressiveness.