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Clinical Research

Blood lipid levels and prostate cancer risk; a cohort study

Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases volume 14, pages 340–345 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

It has been hypothesized that blood lipid levels might be associated with prostate cancer risk. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between serum total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides and prostate cancer risk in a cohort study among 2842 Dutch men. By the end of follow-up, 64 incident cases of prostate cancer were identified. Serum total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides were evaluated as potential risk factors for prostate cancer using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models. These analyses were restricted to men who never used cholesterol-lowering drugs (2118 men, 43 cases). Higher total and higher LDL cholesterol were significantly associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer (hazards ratios (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) per mmol l−1 were 1.39 (95% CI 1.03–1.88) and 1.42 (95% CI 1.00–2.02), respectively). Similar results were observed for aggressive prostate cancer, whereas for non-aggressive prostate cancer a significant association with HDL cholesterol was found (HR 4.28, 95% CI 1.17–15.67). The results of this study suggest that blood lipid levels may influence risk of prostate cancer. However, the exact roles of different cholesterol fractions on prostate cancer aggressiveness should be further evaluated.

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Acknowledgements

DEG Kok was supported by a research grant (2005/63) from the World Cancer Research Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    D E G Kok & L A L M Kiemeney

  2. Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    D E G Kok & E Kampman

  3. Department of Urology, Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    J G H van Roermund

  4. Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and HTA, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    K K H Aben, M den Heijer, E Kampman & L A L M Kiemeney

  5. Department of Registry and Research, Comprehensive Cancer Centre The Netherlands, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    K K H Aben & L A L M Kiemeney

  6. Department of Endocrinology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    M den Heijer

  7. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Laboratory of Genetic, Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    D W Swinkels

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  1. D E G Kok
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Correspondence to L A L M Kiemeney.

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Kok, D., van Roermund, J., Aben, K. et al. Blood lipid levels and prostate cancer risk; a cohort study. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 14, 340–345 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/pcan.2011.30

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