Cholesterol extremes linked to cancer

Diabetics with both low and high levels of LDL-cholesterol are at an increased risk of cancer and death. The association between low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and risk of developing cancer remains controversial and largely unexplored for people not receiving statin therapy. To examine this association, researchers from Canada studied 6107 type 2 diabetics aged 35 years and older with no history of cancer at the start of the study. Cholesterol levels of the participants were studied over time.After a follow up of nearly 5 years, it was found that cancer developed in 270 (4.4 percent), including 209 cases (5.5 percent) among the 3800 patients not treated with statins and 61 cases (2.6 percent) among those receiving statins. Patients with the lowest risk had LDL levels between 2.8 and 3.8 mmol/L. On further analysis, patients with LDLs of less than 2.8, mmol/L had a 74-percent increased risk of cancer compared with 53 percent among all subjects. Those with LDL levels of 3.8 mmol/L or higher had a 87-percent increased risk.The above findings suggest a definite relation between LDL-cholesterol extremes and the increased risk of cancer and death among those with type 2 diabetes.

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