[Anonymous August 10, 1997 at 8:17 pm Post count: 93172]

#1054262

“An IARC Working Group reported that there were no adequate data available
to evaluate the carcinogenicity of propylthiouracil in humans (IARC V.7, 1974;
IARC S.4, 1982; IARC S.7, 1987). In a survey of 331 hyperthyroid patients
treated with antithyroid drugs and later with thyroidectomy, four
malignant thyroid lesions were detected in patients diagnosed with
Grave’s disease, whose drug therapy had continued for at least one
year. There has also been a single case report of acute myeloblastic
leukemia in a woman following propylthiouracil treatment (IARC S.4,
1982; Aksoy et al., 1974).”

this from the “cited” artical.

[Anonymous August 10, 1997 at 10:08 pm Post count: 93172]

#1158268

“In a survey of 331 hyperthyroid patients
treated with antithyroid drugs and later with thyroidectomy, four
malignant thyroid lesions were detected in patients diagnosed with
Grave’s disease, whose drug therapy had continued for at least one
year.”

Somone posted the above info. However, I had read recently that,
because thyroid cancer is so slow-growing, it is not uncommon for
doctors to find thyroid malignancy in patients during autopsies
performed for other reasons. (Sorry, I can’t think where I read this
right now.) In other words, they could have been
walking around with thyroid cancer for 5 or 10 years without
knowing it. So, it seems possible to me that perhaps the above-
mentioned lesions could have been coincidental to the previous PTU
drup therapy. Just a thought.

[Anonymous August 11, 1997 at 6:54 am Post count: 93172]

#1158269

Infomaniac’s point is a good one. (I’ve also read that same thing somewhere, btw.) The way scientists try to determine whether a drug or a treatment is actually having an adverse effect on patients is to compare the known occurrance of a problem in the general population against the occurrance they find in a drug study, or a study of after-treatment results. If the numbers coincide, then they cannot determine that the treatment caused the problem. There may be warning bells set off, but without being able to demonstrate cause and effect, with the numbers, nobody can say for certain what is actually going on. For the individual who develops the problem, this may be very small consolation indeed, and a lot of us would tend to blame the drug or treatment in our mind, anyway. It always seems to be more comforting to have some concrete thing to be able to blame, than to feel that we’ve simply drawn the short end of a cosmic straw.

The thing is, hyperthyroidism debilitates and can kill us. From what is KNOWN about the treatment options, to date, they are monumentally safer for us, and better for us health-wise, than no treatment. That, to me, is the important perspective to keep in mind.

[Anonymous August 11, 1997 at 9:19 am Post count: 93172]

#1158270

I look at it this way. They told us saccharin caused cancer for years and now they discovered it doesn’t. If anti­thyroid meds are one of only 3 treatments available to us, and the other two don’t tickle our fancy, then we” just have to take it and pray for the best!!

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