Link Between Prostate
Cancer and High Cholesterol - Testosterone and Goldstones Are Both
Synthesized from Cholesterol - Italian Research
April 13th 2006
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Italian researchers say they have found a link between high cholesterol
and prostate cancer. According to the co-author, Dr. Cristina Bosetti,
“Androgens – hormones that have a role in prostate tissue and cancer –
are synthesised from cholesterol, suggesting a possible biological
relationship between high cholesterol and prostate cancer. Gallstones
are related to high cholesterol levels as well and are often composed of
cholesterol. So, the direct relationship we found between gallstones and
prostate cancer, while it was not statistically significant, suggests a
similar biological mechanism may explain the link." Androgens are male
sex hormones, like testosterone.
Although an association between prostate cancer and high cholesterol has
been suggested, this study published in the on-line (Wednesday 12 April)
in Annals of Oncology, shows a statistically significant direct
relationship between the two. The researchers relied on their
participant's self-reporting of medical conditions.
The research team worked on data from a case-control study carried out
in four Italian areas between 1991 and 2002, involving 1,294 men under
age 75 with prostate cancer and 1,451 matched controls admitted to the
same hospitals with acute non-cancerous conditions.
According to the study, all cases and controls were interviewed in
hospital by trained interviewers using wide-ranging structured
questionnaires. These included a problem-oriented section on patients'
medical history covering about 10 non-cancerous conditions, including
hypercholesterolaemia (high cholesterol) and gallstones.
Lead author Dr Francesca Bravi, said: "Although the study relied on
participants' self-reported medical conditions, the absence of an
association between prostate cancer and about 10 other medical
conditions we investigated indicates that the relationship we found
between prostate cancer and high cholesterol appears to be a real one."
Brayi is an epidemiologist from the Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche
Mario Negri in Milan.
Francesca went on to say “We found that, after allowing for any
potential confounding factors, men with prostate cancer were around 50%
more likely to have had high cholesterol levels than our non-prostate
cancer controls. The association was somewhat stronger for men whose
high cholesterol levels had been diagnosed before they were 50 and for
men over 65, where there was an 80% greater likelihood of high
cholesterol levels. We also found that prostate cancer patients were 26%
more likely to have suffered from gallstones than our controls, with an
apparently higher relationship in thinner men. Although that figure was
not statistically significant, gallstones are often related to high
cholesterol levels. To our knowledge there have been no previous studies
reporting any relationship between gallstones and prostate cancer."
Dr Bosetti, a senior epidemiologist and biostatistician at the same
institute, concluded: "There are some laboratory data suggesting statins
may have preventive potential against prostate cancer and our results do
give an indirect suggestion that statins may help in lowering prostate
cancer risk. However, studies to date on cholesterol-lowering statins
and prostate cancer have been limited and inconclusive."
By Dan Wilson
Best Syndication
Books on Cancer
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