Association between lipid variability and the risk of mortality in cancer patients not receiving lipid-lowering agents

Seohyun Kim; Gyuri Kim; So Hyun Cho; Rosa Oh; Ji Yoon Kim; You-Bin Lee; Sang-Man Jin; Kyu Yeon Hur; Jae Hyeon Kim

doi:10.3389/fonc.2023.1254339

Association between lipid variability and the risk of mortality in cancer patients not receiving lipid-lowering agents

Front Oncol. 2023 Oct 5:13:1254339. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1254339. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Seohyun Kim¹, Gyuri Kim², So Hyun Cho², Rosa Oh², Ji Yoon Kim², You-Bin Lee², Sang-Man Jin², Kyu Yeon Hur², Jae Hyeon Kim^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
² Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Aim: We investigated the association between total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglyceride (TG) variability and cancer patient mortality risk.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 42,539 cancer patients who were not receiving lipid-lowering agents and who had at least three TC measurements within 2 years of their initial cancer diagnosis. Using a multivariable Cox regression model, the risk of mortality was evaluated.

Results: In multivariable analysis, Q2 (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.32, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.24-1.41), Q3 (aHR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.56-1.76), and Q4 (aHR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.84-2.08) of coefficient of variation (CV) in TC were significantly associated with mortality risk compared to Q1, showing a linear association between higher TC variability and mortality (P for trend<0.001). Q2 (aHR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.06-1.77), Q3 (aHR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.06-1.85), and Q4 (aHR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.14-1.97) were all significantly associated with a higher risk of death compared to Q1 in multivariable Cox regression for the association between CV in LDL and all-cause mortality (P for trend=0.005).

Conclusion: In cancer patients who do not receive lipid-lowering agents, high variability in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels was found to pose significant role in mortality risk.

Keywords: LDL cholesterol; cancer; mortality; total cholesterol; variability.