Association Between Cancer Cells and Normal Vs. Low Levels of Thyroid Hormones in the Serum

Much experimental data has suggested that thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) may modulate neoplastic cells and that T3/T4 deprivation may remove this stimulus. It is now well established that T3/T4 affects cell division/angiogenesis through binding to integrin avb3, commonly over-expressed on many cancer cells. In the experimental settings, mimicking hypothyroidism in the cells is a difficult task. Currently, the use of charcoal stripped serum is used. Using this method, the serum is stripped not only from T3 and T4, as intended, but also from central and important cytokines and growth factor. This leads to a reduced rate of cancer cell proliferation and thus, does not reflect the natural environment in which cancer cells residue under hypothyroid conditions.

The investigators aim to characterize and establish the effects of serum from hypothyroid patients on the proliferation/viability of a variety of cancer cell models.