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Dyslipidemia and colorectal cancer risk: a meta-analysis of prospective studies

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Abstract

Purpose

The findings from epidemiologic studies of dyslipidemia and colorectal cancer risk have been conflicting. We performed a dose–response meta-analysis of published prospective studies to assess the aforementioned association.

Methods

Relevant studies that reported the association between the components of dyslipidemia (serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, and high-/low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and colorectal cancer risk were identified by searching PubMed until the end of May 2014. We pooled the relative risks (RRs) from individual studies using a random- and fixed-effects models and performed dose–response, heterogeneity, and publication bias analyses.

Results

Seventeen prospective studies, including 1,987,753 individuals with 10,876 colorectal cancer events, were included in the meta-analysis. The overall pooled RR for high versus low concentrations for triglyceride (n = 9 studies) was 1.18 (95 % CI 1.04–1.34; I 2 = 47.8 %), for total cholesterol (n = 10 studies) was 1.11 (95 % CI 1.01–1.21; I 2 = 46.7 %), for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (n = 6 studies) was 0.84 (95 % CI 0.69–1.02; I 2 = 42.5 %), and for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (n = 3 studies) was 1.04 (95 % CI 0.60–1.81; I 2 = 82.7 %). In the dose–response analysis, the overall pooled RR was 1.01 (95 % CI 1.00–1.03; I 2 = 0 %) per 50 mg/dL of triglyceride and 1.01 (95 % CI 0.97–1.05; I 2 = 64.3 %) per 100 mg/dL of total cholesterol.

Conclusions

This meta-analysis of prospective studies suggests that dyslipidemia, especially high levels of serum triglyceride and total cholesterol, is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol might associate with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer. Further studies are warranted to determine whether altering the concentrations of these metabolic variables may reduce colorectal cancer risk.

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Acknowledgments

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, 36, San Hao Street, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110004, People’s Republic of China

    Xu Yao & Zhong Tian

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  1. Xu Yao
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Correspondence to Zhong Tian.

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10552_2014_507_MOESM1_ESM.tif

Supplementary material 1 Supplementary Figure S1. Forest plots (random effect model) of meta-analysis on the relationship between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations and colorectal cancer risk. Squares indicate study-specific relative risks (size of the square reflects the study-specific statistical weight); horizontal lines indicate 95 % CIs; and diamond indicates the summary relative risk estimate with its 95 % CI. CC: colon cancer; CI: confidence interval; CRC: colorectal cancer; F: female; M: male; RC: rectal cancer; and RR: relative risk. (TIFF 2,577 kb)

10552_2014_507_MOESM2_ESM.tif

Supplementary material 2 Supplementary Figure S2. Forest plots (random effect model) of meta-analysis on the relationship between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations and colorectal cancer risk. Squares indicate study-specific relative risks (size of the square reflects the study-specific statistical weight); horizontal lines indicate 95 % CIs; and diamond indicates the summary relative risk estimate with its 95 % CI. CC: colon cancer; CI: confidence interval; CRC: colorectal cancer; F: female; M: male; RC: rectal cancer; and RR: relative risk. (TIFF 1,823 kb)

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Yao, X., Tian, Z. Dyslipidemia and colorectal cancer risk: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Cancer Causes Control 26, 257–268 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-014-0507-y

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