CardioExchange Archive

In the largest study to date examining the relationship between lipids and colorectal cancer (CRC), a European study has found a strong inverse relationship between HDL cholesterol and colon cancer. Previous smaller studies investigating the relationship had been inconclusive.

In a paper published in Gut, Fränzel JB van Duijnhoven and colleagues report on a nested case-control study from the large European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), which includes more than 500,000 participants. The new study focuses on 1238 cases of CRC and the same number of matched controls. After adjusting for other known risk factors, the investigators found a significant inverse association between HDL and apoA and colon cancer. No association was found with rectal cancer.

The authors speculated that a protective role for HDL in colon cancer may involve the effects of HDL on inflammatory pathways or oxidative stress, but they acknowledged that “it still remains to be established whether low HDL concentrations are just correlated with other truly detrimental pathways, whether they are intermediate factors in the colon carcinogenic process or are a true risk factor initiating a mechanistic path on the road to colon cancer.”