Do you have questions men's health related?
Please send them!
If you have a question related to men's health, please fill the form bellow.
1. It is a must to provide a valid email, unless you want your questions to be ignored.
We won't make your email public, but we like to talk with live persons.
2. To protect
your identity, take care the name you fill. We make public your name exactly as it is.
|
Public release date: 04 September 2008
[
]
Low LDL cholesterol associated with cancer in diabetics
Low levels of LDL cholesterol as well as high levels are associated with cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes, found a
prospective cohort study published in Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Researchers from the Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity, the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences and The
Chinese University of Hong Kong conducted a study of 6107 Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes and found a V-shaped risk
relation between LDL cholesterol and cancer in patients not receiving statin therapy.
"LDL cholesterol levels below 2.80 mmol/L and levels of at least 3.90 mmol/L were both associated with markedly elevated
risk of cancer among patients who did not use statins," state Dr. Juliana Chan and coauthors.
The study excluded people on statins as statins obscured the association between LDL cholesterol and all-site cancer.
Increasing data suggests an association between type 2 diabetes and an elevated risk of cancer, including breast,
colorectal, pancreatic and liver cancers. An elevated risk of cancer in patients with low LDL was linked to cancers of
digestive organs and peritoneum, genital and urinary organs, lymphatic and blood tissues as well as other areas. Patients
with an LDL cholesterol level above 3.80 mmol/L had heightened risks of oral, digestive, bone, skin, connective tissue,
breast and other cancers.
Regarding clinical implications, the authors suggest "the use of these levels as risk markers may help clinicians to assess
their patients more fully and thus to prevent premature deaths in patients who have high risk."
They call for re-analysis of data from clinical trials to confirm or refute these findings.
In a related commentary, Drs. Frank Hu and Eric Ding of Harvard School of Public Health say confounding factors such as
indication for the use of statins, lifestyle and socioeconomic status must be considered when looking at the association
of high levels of LDL cholesterol and the risk of cancer.
"Low serum cholesterol is commonly observed in individuals with ill health (e.g. cancer patients) and those with unhealthy
lifestyle characteristics such as smoking and heavy drinking," states Hu.
About CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)
CMAJ is the leading health sciences journal in Canada. CMAJ is a general medical journal publishing original research and
review articles, commentaries and editorials, practice updates, an arts and ideas section and health news. Published
continuously since 1911, new issues are uploaded on http://www.cmaj.ca every second Monday at 4:30 p.m. EST/EDT.
http://www.cmaj.ca contains the complete editorial contents of CMAJ, supplemented by a variety of interactive features
and additional content
|
|
