Cholesterol and colorectal cancer

Cholesterol and Colorectal cancer (CRC)

Lipid imbalance is one of the main risk factors for CRC through associations with inflammation, oxidative stress and insulin resistance (1)

A meta-analysis of prospective studies showed that high levels of serum TG (triglycerides) and TC (total cholesterol) are positively correlated with the incidence rate of CRC, while high levels of serum HDL-C are negatively correlated with CRC incidence rate (1)

• in this study no association was found between LDL-C and the risk of developing CRC
• it was noted that the heterogeneity brought about by comparative methods, demographic differences and pathological differences between the research subjects limits the effectiveness of the overall pooled results

Notes:

• metabolic syndrome (MetS) and colorectal cancer (CRC)
  • MetS is a cluster of metabolic risk factors that includes abdominal obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia
  • more than 20% of adults are known to have MetS (2)
    • prevalence worldwide varies depending on race, environmental factors, the age and gender composition of the population, genetic differences, physical activity level, eating habits, and differences in measurement standards
  • a study by Lee et al found that MetS is a risk factor for CRC (2)

Reference:

• (1) Yang Z, Tang H, Lu S, et al. Relationship between serum lipid level and colorectal cancer: a systemic review and meta-analysis.BMJ Open 2022;12:e052373. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052373
• (2) Lee J, Lee KS, Kim H, et al. The relationship between metabolic syndrome and the incidence of colorectal cancer. Environ Health Prev Med. 2020;25(1):6. Published 2020 Feb 19. doi:10.1186/s12199-020-00845-w