Is Melanoma Progression Affected by Thyroid Diseases?

Clinical and epidemiological evidence indicate a relationship between thyroid diseases and melanoma. In particular, the hypothyroidism condition appears to promote melanoma spread, which suggests a protective role of thyroid hormones against disease progression. In addition, experimental data suggest that, in addition to thyroid hormones, other hormonal players of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis, namely the thyrotropin releasing hormone and the thyrotropin, are likely to affect melanoma cells behavior.

Expression and Clinical Utility of Transcription Factors Involved in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition during Thyroid Cancer Progression.

The transcription factors involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT-TFs) silence the genes expressed in epithelial cells (e.g., E-cadherin) while inducing those typical of mesenchymal cells (e.