Prostate Cancer Risk and High Cholesterol

Italian scientists have recenty discovered a link between high cholesterol and prostate cancer. They determined that the androgens (male hormones that effect prostate tissue and cancer) are formed from cholesterol. This suggests that their might be a strong biological link between high cholesterol levels and prostate cancer risk. A study published online in the Annals of Oncology points out a statistically significant relationship between cholesterol in the body and prostate cancer growth and incidence.

The researchers used data from a study that was done in four Italian regions between 1991 and 2002 and which involved about 1300 men who were under the age of 75 and had prostate cancer and 1500 men who had been admitted to the same hospitals but did not have prostate cancer. A series of questions was asked of each of the participants encompassing each patients medical history.

It was found that the men with prostate cancer where about 50 percent more likely to have high choloesterol than the patients who did not have prostate cancer.
It is not known what the relationship between these results are but one theory is that the male hormones or androgens may play a role.