Association between total cholesterol levels and all-cause mortality among newly diagnosed patients with cancer

Abstract

We aimed to determine the association between cholesterol values and the risk of all-cause mortality in newly diagnosed patients with cancer in a large-scale longitudinal cohort. Newly diagnosed patients with cancer were reviewed retrospectively. Cox proportional hazards regression models determined the association between baseline levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and the risk of all-cause mortality. A restricted cubic spline curve was used to identify the association between total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol with the risk of death on a continuous scale and to present the lowest values of lipid measurements associated with death. The median follow-up duration of the study was 5.77 years. Of the 59,217 patients with cancer, 12,624 patients were expired. The multivariable adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for all-cause mortality in patients with cancer with 1st–5th (≤ 97 mg/dL) and 96th–100th (> 233 mg/dL) in TC levels was 1.54 (95% CI 1.43–1.66) and 1.28 (95% CI 1.16–1.41), respectively, compared to 61st–80th (172–196 mg/dL). The TC level associated with the lowest mortality risk in the multivariable model was 181 mg/dL. In comparison with LDL-C levels in the 61st–80th (115–136 mg/dL), the multivariable aHR for all-cause mortality in cancer patients with LDL-C levels in the 1st-5th (≤ 57 mg/dL) and 96th–100th (> 167 mg/dL) was 1.38 (95% CI 1.14–1.68) and 0.94 (95% CI 0.69–1.28), respectively. The 142 mg/dL of LDL cholesterol showed the lowest mortality risk. We demonstrated a U-shaped relationship between TC levels at baseline and risk of mortality in newly diagnosed patients with cancer. Low LDL levels corresponded to an increased risk of all-cause death.