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Low Cholesterol May Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk
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Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels can reduce your chances of having a heart attack or stroke.
But as Healthwatch reporter Kellye Lynn reports, there could be an additional benefit for men.
Research out of Johns Hopkins indicates lowering your cholesterol could help lower your risk for a certain form of prostate cancer.
John Blakely's blood pressure is good, but his cholesterol is another story.
"I need to pay attention to my triglycerides, a subset within that cholesterol issue," said Blakely.
Bringing his cholesterol under control could help John stave off a deadly form of prostate cancer.
"Men who had low cholesterol had a lower risk of high-grade disease," said Dr. Elizabeth Platz, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
Dr. Platz conducted a study analyzing about 5,600 middle-aged men. After seven years, about 1,200 of them developed prostate cancer.
"And what we found was men who had cholesterol below 200 milligrams per deciliter, which is the normal range, were less likely to develop high-grade disease," she said.
She explains men in the study with low cholesterol were 60% less likely to develop high-grade disease.
"We think that lower cholesterol may inhibit the signaling that allows prostate cancer cells that have the worst prognosis," Dr. Platz said. "It prevents them from surviving."
This latest research follows other studies at Hopkins that have connected low cholesterol to protection against prostate cancer.
More studies are planned. Dr. Platz said the next step is to find out how good cholesterol affects prostate cancer risk.
You can also keep your cholesterol in the healthy range by losing weight, cutting the saturated and trans fat in your diet, reducing your alcohol intake and getting active with at least a half hour of moderate intensity physical activity five days a week.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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