Does having Hashimoto's and being hypo increase your risk of developing thyroid cancer?

[Wtps]

I made the mistake of googling "hashimoto's and thyroid cancer" needless to say a few things I read scared me so I stopped reading. Can anyone tell me if having hashimoto's puts you at an increased risk of developing thyroid cancer? I'm pretty sure hypo(waiting for tests) and so was my mom but I never heard anything about her having hashis.

[Fuel1212]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I would say yes. I had Hashi's and also thyroid cancer and was only 33, now 34.
I had a small 6mm nodule that came back suspicious from 2 pathology reports, after FNA. I had surgery and the surgeon found that the nodule was isolated to the left lobe and that the right lobe was in good condition other than slight scaring from the Hashi's. Now who's to say if the Hashi's caused this, but I will tell you I have no cancer in my family and no thyroid especially Hashi's in my family at all?

Don't get too caught up on it. Keep the TSH low to supress the Hashi's from being active. Also keep an eye on the other levels FT3, FT4, etc. Get frequent scans to check nodules and FNA if there are any present. If you do end up getting cancer, don't worry too much. It is not that bad, and you will be fine. Catch it in the beginning stages and it increases your odds of survival. I had the papilarry Carcinoma, which is I am told the one to have. Let me know if you have any other questions, as I would be happy to help.

Fuel

[Hol739]

Just searching online, this is what I found....

Hashimoto's Patients Face Higher Risk of Thyroid Cancer
Thursday July 17, 2008
Researchers looked the use of thyroidectomy -- surgery to remove the thyroid gland -- as a treatment for Hashimoto's thyroiditis. In the study, 474 patients were evaluated: 133 (28%) had preoperative diagnosis of thyroid cancer (, 316 had benign thyroid nodules or goiter, and 25 had symptoms caused by thyroiditis. Among the patients, no one experienced death or permanent surgical complications. 32.1% had transient postoperative hypocalcemia, Less than 1% had transient recurrent nerve palsy, and less than 1% had a postoperative neck hematoma. The researchers concluded that thyroidectomy can be performed in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis with a low risk of permanent surgical complications.
A surprising finding was that a total of fifty-three percent of the patients had thyroid cancer -- many more than the 28% who went into the surgery with a thyroid cancer diagnosis. Even when you exclude the patients who already knew they had thyroid cancer going into the surgery, the prevalence of thyroid cancer in the Hashimoto's patients as still 35.6%. According to the researchers, it is unclear why there is a link between Hashimoto's thyroiditis and cancer -- it may have to do with an immune response. Papillary thyroid cancer in Hashimoto's patients does, however, have a more favorable prognosis than in patients without Hashimoto's.

Shih, Ming-Lang et. al. "Thyroidectomy for Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: Complications and Associated Cancers," Thyroid. July 1, 2008, 18(7): 729-734. Full text PDF

[Hol739]

I was reading the same thing as I have both Hashi & Hypo it is scary. and I try not to think about it. You just really got to keep up with doctor apts and keep your levels under control it's scary yes. But keep me posted as well. Curious on this one, but then again I shouldn't be thinking the worse.