Cancer and cholesterol
High cholesterol would be associated with an increased risk of some cancers, but a lower likelihood of others. “I do not really understand” how cholesterol direct impact on the risk of developing cancer, said Dr. Carl Kitahara, National Cancer Institute U.S.. Kitahara, lead author of the study, said it could also be that the lifestyle and other health conditions change that vulnerability in people with high cholesterol.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, involved 1.2 million men and women from Korea, to which they were measured in fasting cholesterol. The team calculated the “total cholesterol” (the combination of LDL or “bad” cholesterol and HDL or “good”) and monitored the participants for 13 years as an oncology database and files of hospitalizations, to determine who developed cancer .
The men were about 45 years at baseline and 191 mg / dL of total cholesterol, while women were about 49 and 194 mg / dL. According to the National Institutes of Health, United States, the value “desirable” total cholesterol below 200 mg / dL. Between 200 and 239 mg / dL is a value “limit” and from 240 mg / dL is “high.”
Seven out of 100 participants developed cancer. The most common were stomach (2 in 100), lung and liver (1 in 100 each). But regardless of the type of cancer, people with high total cholesterol were more likely to develop the disease.
Still, the extra risk was low. Men with high cholesterol values had a 7.9 percent chance of developing cancer, compared with 7.1 percent in those with the lowest values, ie a difference of less than 1 percent.
In women, this difference was a little over 1 percent-6.3 in the group with higher total cholesterol versus 5.1 percent in the group with the lowest values. The team also noted that the relationship between cholesterol and cancer risk varied by body site studied: men with high cholesterol tend to develop prostate cancer and colon cancer, but were less likely to have liver cancer, stomach or lung, while women with high cholesterol were more likely to develop breast cancer but not liver cancer.
After considering factors such as smoking, weight, pressure, alcohol consumption, participants with higher cholesterol levels had an 9-16 percent lower risk of developing cancer. Cholesterol is crucial for the control of substances into and out of cells. It also participates in the production of hormones like estrogen and testosterone. Kitahara suggested that it might influence the vulnerability to cancer through these processes.
The results do not mean that the cancer risk might be reduced by lowering cholesterol with drugs or a healthy diet. “Further studies are needed to confirm or refute these results,” Kitahara said. Meanwhile, any questions about cholesterol is to talk to the doctor.
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