For decades, population studies reporting an association between cholesterol concentration and cancer incidence have fueled concern that lower total cholesterol may lead to cancer. However, two studies published OnlineFirst in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention suggest a more positive relationship between cholesterol and cancer.

Reporting on an 18-year followup to 29,093 male Finnish smokers in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study, Demetrius Albanes and colleagues found evidence that previously-reported low total cholesterol levels did not cause cancer, but rather were the result of underlying cancers. Further, they found that higher levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol were associated with a 14 percent decreased risk of cancer.

In an accompanying study that looked specifically at risk for high-grade prostate cancer, Elizabeth Platz and colleagues found a link between low cholesterol and decreased risk of high-grade prostate cancer among 5,586 men older than 55 years.

• Read the article by Albanes et al.
• Read the article by Platz et al.
• Read the accompanying Editorial by Eric J. Jacobs
  
• Read the press release about these studies
• Listen to the November 3 press briefing