High cholesterol ups risk of prostate cancer recurrence

Higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, two types of fat, in the blood of men who underwent surgery for prostate cancer, may increase risk of disease recurrence, says a study.

"Our findings suggest that normalisation, or even partial normalisation, of serum lipid levels among men with dyslipidemia (abnormal lipid profile) may reduce the risk of prostate cancer recurrence," said Emma Allott from the Duke University' School of Medicine in Durham, US.

For the study, the researchers analysed data from 843 men who underwent radical prostatectomy after a prostate cancer diagnosis and who never took statins before surgery.

They found that those who had serum triglyceride levels of 150 mg/dl (milligrams per decilitre) or higher had a 35 percent increased risk of prostate cancer recurrence, when compared with patients who had normal levels of triglycerides.

Among those with abnormal blood lipid profile, for every 10 mg/dl increase in total serum cholesterol above 200 mg/dL, there was a nine percent increased risk of prostate cancer recurrence.

For every 10 mg/dl increase in high density lipoprotein (HDL or "good" cholesterol) among men with abnormal HDL (below the desirable value of 40 mg/dl), the risk of prostate cancer recurrence was lowered by 39 percent.

"Understanding associations between obesity, cholesterol, and prostate cancer is important given that cholesterol levels are readily modifiable with diet and/or statin use, and could therefore have important, practical implications for prostate cancer prevention and treatment," Allott explained.

The study appeared in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.