]> 2026-04-12T02:29:49-07:00 Thyroid Hormone T4 (Thyroxine) Suppression 0 en The toxicity level of Thyroid Hormone T4 Suppression Therapy is rated as a 2, which indicates a low level of toxicity. This is because the therapy is designed to suppress the hormone levels in the body and replace them with a synthetic version to help fight cancer cells. The side effects, such as fatigue, are typically manageable, especially when the treatment is carefully monitored. Nonetheless, this therapy is not without potential side effects and it is applied off-label, hence it's necessary to discuss with your healthcare provider. 2025-01-18T08:20:52Z 2460693.8478241 Thyroid Hormone T4 (Thyroxine) Suppression 0 [2,"smw-datavalue-wikipage-property-invalid-title","Has OS with","In early studies, hypothyroid patients showed median survival of 10.1 months compared to 3.1 months in non-hypothyroid patients. Remarkable long-term survivors in informal cohort studies with advanced cancer, including glioblastoma patients surviving 36 and 48 months."] Thyroid Hormone T4 (Thyroxine) Suppression# ERR3aabb59ff203b92cc3bf951971663903 0 [2,"smw-datavalue-wikipage-property-invalid-title","Has original text","Based on observations of the relationship between hypothyroid status (depressed thyroid\nfunction) and improved outcomes in cancer patients dating at least back to 1988, Aleck\nHercbergs and colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic conducted a clinical trial, published in\n2003, in which 22 high grade glioma patients were treated with propylthiouracil to induce\nchemical hypothyroidism, and high dose tamoxifen (349). 15 of the patients had the\ndiagnosis of glioblastoma and the remainder were grade 3 gliomas. Half of the patients\n(11 of 22) attained hypothyroid status, although no clinical symptoms of hypothyroidism\nwere observed. A survival analysis determined that median survival in the 11 hypothyroid\npatients was 10.1 months, while median survival in the non-hypothyroid group was only\n3.1months. After adjusting for the younger age of the hypothyroid patients, survival was\nstill longer in the hypothyroid group, with borderline statistical significance (p=0.08).\n\nLater, in 2005, the discovery of cell surface receptors for thyroid hormones on avB3\n(alphaVbeta3) integrins, provided a mechanism for their cancer-promoting effects (350).\nThis particular integrin tends to be overexpressed on cancer cells, and stimulation of this\nintegrin by thyroid hormones leads to increased angiogenesis, tumor cell proliferation,\nand resistance to apoptosis (351).\n\nFollowing publication of the 2003 trial, many cancer physicians and cancer patients\nreached out to Hercbergs, resulting in a cohort of 23 advanced cancer patients treated\ninformally with thyroid suppression therapy in addition to standard treatments (351).\nPatients who were taking synthetic T4 for pre-existing hypothyroidism were abruptly\nswitched to synthetic T3 (Cytomel) and in three of these patients there was a rapid and\ndurable tumor remission observed in conjuction with standard treatments. In the\nremaining patients, methimazole was used to depress T4 levels to below the reference\nrange, and patients again received synthetic T3 hormone (Cytomel). The rationale for this\n31\n\nis that even though T3 is the active form of thyroid hormone, the affinity for T4 at the\nthyroid hormone receptor on the integrin is greater than for T3, and T4 is a stronger\ninducer of cancer cell proliferation. The suppression of T4 and supplementation with T3\n(Cytomel) is therefore thought to reduce the major cancer-promoting effect of thyroid\nhormones while avoiding the clinical symptoms of hypothyroidism, such as fatigue.\n\nFour patients with glioblastoma were included in this study, including a 67 year old male\nwith a KPS of 70 and a partial resection who survived 36 months (3 years), and a 64 year\nold male with a KPS of 60 who had undergone a biopsy only and lived for 48 months (4\nyears). Both of these patients had an expected survival of 10 months. A third female\nglioblastoma patient, aged 68, had a low KPS of 40 and survived for 8 months.\n\nSeveral patients were excluded from the study who had either failed to achieve free T4\ndepletion, or who voluntary discontinued treatment (perhaps due to a perception of lack\nof benefit or an actual lack of benefit). Therefore the 100% response rate observed in this\nstudy is perhaps an exaggeration, although the long survival of two out of four advanced\nGBM patients certainly suggests an effect of the treatment, as standard treatments alone\nrarely lead to such positive outcomes. Additionally, Hercbergs et al. published a case\nreport of a 64 year old patient with optic pathway glioma, progressive after standard\ntreatments, who responded to T4 depletion with propylthiouracil followed by carboplatin\nchemotherapy with a remission period of 2.5 years and overall survival of 4.5 years (352).\n\nA phase 2 clinical trial testing T4 suppression with methimazole and Cytomel (synthetic\nT3) in addition to standard treatment for newly diagnosed glioblastoma has started\nrecruiting in Tel-Aviv, Israel early in 2016 (NCT02654041)."] Thyroid Hormone T4 (Thyroxine) Suppression# ERRa3f62c6665776505f0db7c26c19aebf1 Has treatment name 102 en Has treatment name