'Good' cholesterol may lower a cancer risk

BALTIMORE, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Men with low cholesterol are less likely to get high-grade prostate cancer, a U.S. researcher says.

The study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, found a link between low cholesterol and decreased risk of high-grade prostate cancer among 5,586 men older than age 55.

"High-grade prostate cancer is less common than prostate cancer overall, but it is a subset of prostate cancer that is more likely to progress," study leader Elizabeth Platz of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore said in a statement.

The researchers found men with a total cholesterol of less than 200 milligrams per decilitre had a 59 percent reduced risk of high-grade prostate cancer.

No association was seen for prostate cancer overall or for prostate cancer with a lower Gleason score. The Gleason score, given to prostate cancer based upon its microscopic appearance, is part of a system used to help evaluate prognosis. Higher Gleason scores are more aggressive cancers and have a worse prognosis.