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Prospective associations between serum biomarkers of lipid metabolism and overall, breast and prostate cancer risk

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Abstract

Experimental studies provided evidence about mechanisms by which cholesterol, especially high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), could influence carcinogenesis, notably through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, prospective studies that investigated the associations between specific lipid metabolism biomarkers and cancer risk provided inconsistent results. The objective was to investigate the prospective associations between total cholesterol (T-C), HDL-C, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoproteins A1 (apoA1) and B, and triglycerides and overall, breast and prostate cancer risk. Analyses were performed on 7,557 subjects of the Supplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux Antioxydants Study, a nationwide French cohort study. Biomarkers of lipid metabolism were measured at baseline and analyzed regarding the risk of first primary incident cancer (N = 514 cases diagnosed during follow-up, 1994–2007), using Cox proportional hazards models. T-C was inversely associated with overall (HR1mmol/L increment = 0.91, 95 % CI 0.82–1.00; P = 0.04) and breast (HR1mmol/L increment = 0.83, 95 % CI 0.69–0.99; P = 0.04) cancer risk. HDL-C was also inversely associated with overall (HR1mmol/L increment = 0.61, 95 % CI 0.46–0.82; P = 0.0008) and breast (HR1mmol/L increment = 0.48, 95 % CI 0.28–0.83; P = 0.009) cancer risk. Consistently, apoA1 was inversely associated with overall (HR1g/L increment = 0.56, 95 % CI 0.39–0.82; P = 0.003) and breast (HR1g/L increment = 0.36, 95 % CI 0.18–0.73; P = 0.004) cancer risk. This prospective study suggests that pre-diagnostic serum levels of T-C, HDL-C and ApoA1 are associated with decreased overall and breast cancer risk. The confirmation of a role of cholesterol components in cancer development, by further large prospective and experimental studies, may have important implications in terms of public health, since cholesterol is already crucial in cardiovascular prevention.

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Abbreviations

ApoA1:

Apolipoprotein A1

ApoB:

Apolipoprotein B

BMI:

Body mass index

CI:

Confidence interval

HDL-C:

High density lipoprotein cholesterol

HR:

Hazard ratio

LDL-C:

Low density lipoprotein cholesterol

Q:

Quartile

SU.VI.MAX:

Supplémentation en Vitamines et Minéraux Antioxydants

T-C:

Total cholesterol

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Gwenael Monot, Younes Esseddik, Paul Flanzy, Mohand Ait Oufella, Yasmina Chelghoum, and Than Duong Van (computer scientists), Florence Charpentier (dietitian), Nathalie Arnault, Véronique Gourlet, Fabien Szabo, Laurent Bourhis, and Stephen Besseau (statisticians), and Rachida Mehroug (logistics assistant) for their technical contribution to the SU.VI.MAX study. This work was supported by the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM U557); the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA U1125); and the Université Paris 13.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. EREN, SMBH Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité Research Center, Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team, Inserm (U1153), Inra, Cnam, Paris 13 University, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, 93017, Bobigny Cedex, France

    Mathilde His, Laurent Zelek, Mélanie Deschasaux, Camille Pouchieu, Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot, Serge Hercberg, Pilar Galan, Paule Latino-Martel, Jacques Blacher & Mathilde Touvier

  2. Oncology Department, Avicenne Hospital, 93017, Bobigny Cedex, France

    Laurent Zelek

  3. Public Health Department, Avicenne Hospital, 93017, Bobigny Cedex, France

    Serge Hercberg

  4. Diagnosis and Therapeutic Center, Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, 75004, Paris, France

    Jacques Blacher

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  1. Mathilde His
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Correspondence to Mathilde Touvier.

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His, M., Zelek, L., Deschasaux, M. et al. Prospective associations between serum biomarkers of lipid metabolism and overall, breast and prostate cancer risk. Eur J Epidemiol 29, 119–132 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-014-9884-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-014-9884-5

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