Effects of cholesterol, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6 on prostate cancer risk in a population of African ancestry

Purpose To investigate the association between serum cholesterol and prostate cancer and whether any effect may be mediated through inflammatory markers. Methods Data from a case-control study of 40-80 years old Jamaican male patients (229 cases; 252 controls) were used. Cases had incident histologically-confirmed prostate cancer and controls were men with normal digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) < 4 mu g/L or free: total PSA > 0.15 obtained from the same clinic. Total and HDL cholesterol, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured from a non-fasting sample. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations between these factors and prostate cancer, adjusting for age, body mass index, waist circumference, family history of prostate cancer, diabetes, hypertension, use of cholesterol-lowering drugs, and smoking. Results Total cholesterol [Mean (cases, 4.71 +/- 1.07; controls, 4.64 +/- 1.07 mmol/L)], CRP [median (cases, 2.11; controls, 2.09 mu g/ml)], and IL-6: [median (cases, 3.34; controls, 3.24 pg/ml)] did not differ by PCA status. Higher total cholesterol was associated with an increased risk of low-grade disease after adjusting for potential confounders [multivariable-adjusted OR (95% CI): tertile 2: 3.32(1.66, 6.45), tertile 3: 2.14(1.07, 4.32)]. Total cholesterol was unrelated to overall prostate cancer or high-grade disease. There was no significant association between HDL cholesterol or any of the inflammatory markers with prostate cancer. Conclusions Increasing total cholesterol but not inflammatory markers were associated with low-grade prostate cancer in Caribbean men.