Higher “Good” Cholesterol May Lower Cancer Risk

In that epidemiologic studies suggest an inverse relationship between serum total cholesterol levels and incident cancer. Haseeb Jafri , from Tufts University School of Medicine (Massachusetts, USA), and colleagues have previously reported that lower levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein, “bad”) cholesterol are associated with a significantly higher risk of incident cancer.  The team now finds that higher HDL (high-density lipoprotein, “good”) cholesterol levels associate with lower cancer risk. Conducting a meta-analysis of clinical trials involving lipids interventions, the team assessed data from 24 studies and found “a significant inverse association between baseline HDL-C levels and the rate of incident cancer,” which persisted despite adjustments for confounding factors, such as LDL cholesterol, age, body mass index, sex,  and smoking. Specifically, for each 10 mg/dL higher increment of HDL cholesterol, there was a 36% lower relative risk of incident cancer.