BACKGROUND - Black men are disproportionately affected by both cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer. Epidemiologic evidence linking dyslipidemia, an established cardiovascular risk factor, and prostate cancer progression is mixed.
As existing studies were conducted in predominantly non-black populations, research in black men is lacking.
METHODS - We identified 628 black and 1,020 non-black men who underwent radical prostatectomy and never used statins before surgery in the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital (SEARCH) database. Median follow up was 2. 9 years. The impact of preoperative hypercholesterolemia on risk of biochemical recurrence was examined using multivariable, race-stratified proportional hazards. In secondary analysis, we examined associations with low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglycerides, overall and among men with dyslipidemia.
RESULTS - High cholesterol was associated with increased risk of recurrence in black (HRper10mg/dl 1. 06; 95%CI 1. 02-1. 11) but not non-black men (HRper10mg/dl 0. 99; 95%CI 0. 95-1. 03; p-interaction=0. 011). Elevated triglycerides were associated with increased risk in both black and non-black men (HRper10mg/dl 1. 02; 95%CI 1. 00-1. 03 and 1. 02; 95%CI 1. 00-1. 02, respectively; p-interaction=0. 458). There were no significant associations between LDL or HDL and recurrence risk in either race. Associations with cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides were similar among men with dyslipidemia, but low HDL was associated with increased risk of recurrence in black, but not non-black men with dyslipidemia (p-interaction=0. 047).
CONCLUSIONS - Elevated cholesterol was a risk factor for recurrence in black but not non-black men, whereas high triglycerides were associated with increased risk regardless of race.
IMPACT - Significantly contrasting associations by race may provide insight into prostate cancer racial disparities.
Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology. 2016 Jan 25 [Epub ahead of print]
Emma H Allott, Lauren E Howard, William J Aronson, Martha K Terris, Christopher J Kane, Christopher L Amling, Matthew R Cooperberg, Stephen J Freedland
Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. , Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine. , Department of Urology, UCLA School of Medicine. , Section of Urology, Medical College of Georgia. , Urology Department, University of California San Diego. , Division of Urology, Oregon Health Sciences University. , Department of Urology, University of California San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. , Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Cedars Sinai Medical Center