Evaluation of the Association between Sjögren Syndrome and Thyroid Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Background: Sjögren’s syndrome affects the skin, joints, lungs, kidneys, liver, and thyroid. This research was aimed to assess the association of Sjögren’s syndrome with the thyroid carcinoma risk. Materials and Methods: The present study was used a systematic review and meta-analysis method. This study searched the databases ProQuest, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and the search engine Google Scholar until July 7, 2024. The level of significance was considered as P<0.05, and all data analyses were done in STATA 14 software.
Results: A review of 11 studies revealed that Sjögren’s syndrome increased the thyroid carcinoma risk in all patients (OR: 2.08, (95%CI: 1.47, 2.94)), in patients aged 40 to 49 years (OR: 1.43, (95%CI: 1.23, 1.67)), 50 to 59 years (OR: 4.65, (95%CI: 1.87, 11.58)), 60 to 69 years (OR: 1.34, (95%CI: 1.08, 1.66)) and in women ((OR:1.83, (95%CI: 1.35, 2.48). However, there was no significant association between Sjögren’s syndrome and thyroid carcinoma risk in men ((OR: 1.49, (95%CI: 0.95, 2.34). Moreover, patients with Sjögren’s syndrome who had a follow-up period of <= 5 years ((OR: 1.68, (95%CI: 1.10, 2.54) and patients with a follow-up period of > 5 years ((OR: 5.77, (95%CI: 1.97, 16.97) were at risk of thyroid cancer. Moreover, the thyroid carcinoma risk was in Europe ((OR: 3.26, (95%CI: 1.24, 8.56) and in Asia ((OR: 1.87, (95%CI: 1.27, 2.74). Primary Sjögren’s syndrome also significantly increased the thyroid carcinoma risk ((OR: 2.37, (95%CI: 1.44, 3.90). Conclusion: Sjögren’s syndrome increased the thyroid carcinoma risk, and female gender, fifth decade of life, European race, and involvement duration of more than 5 years were the exacerbating factors.