Cholesterol plays role in prostate health

DURHAM, N.C., Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The American Urological Association is urging U.S. men to decrease their risk of developing prostate cancer by managing their cholesterol.

Two separate studies point out an association between cholesterol levels and prostate health risks. In 2007, a retrospective study by the Durham Veteran Affairs Medical Center in North Carolina showed that 1,214 men taking statins to lower their cholesterol also experienced a proportional decline in their levels of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA.

As the prostate grows, it secretes an increased amount of PSA into the bloodstream. This study highlights the fact that cholesterol levels could be associated in some way with prostate cancer development and progression, a spokesman for the AUA said.

Poor cholesterol management may not only affect a man's risk for prostate cancer, but also his risk of biomedical recurrence after prostatectomy, data from Duke University in Durham, N.C., found.

Researchers identified 471 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy from 1998 to 2007 and found that those with a high level of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, the "bad" cholesterol and those with increased serum cholesterol were up to 2.5 times more likely to experience a biochemical relapse.