High Cholesterol Bad for Heart but May Also
Increases Prostate Cancer Risk
September is both National Prostate Health Month and
National Cholesterol Education Month
Sept. 18, 2008 - Heart health isnt the only reason
for older men to pay attention to cholesterol levels, according to the
American Urological Association, which points to recent research showing
that cholesterol plays an important role in prostate health as well.
Two separate studies from researchers in North
Carolina 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 new study highlights the fact
that cholesterol levels could be associated in some way with prostate
cancer development and progression.
Second study
Poor cholesterol management may not only affect a
mans risk for prostate cancer, but also his risk of biomedical
recurrence after prostatectomy, according to new data from Duke
University released earlier this year.
Researchers identified 471 patients from the Shared
Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital (SEARCH) database who underwent
radical prostatectomy between 1998 and 2007 and found that those with a
high level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and those with
increased serum cholesterol were up to 2.5 times more likely to
experience a biochemical relapse.
September has been designated both National
Prostate Health Month and National Cholesterol Education Month, and the
AUA and the AUA Foundation are urging men to decrease their risk of
developing prostate cancer by managing their cholesterol.
While the association between high cholesterol and
prostate health has been established by these data, the actual
causation, researchers point out, is still unknown. However, these
studies magnify the fact that being heart healthy can help men improve
the health of their prostates.
There is no better time than now, according to the
AUA, to find a urologist for a free or low-cost prostate cancer
screening, visit
http://www.UrologyHealth.org.
Information provided by news source:
About the American Urological Association: Founded
in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American
Urological Association is the pre-eminent professional organization for
urologists, with more than 16,000 members throughout the world. An
educational nonprofit organization, the AUA pursues its mission of
fostering the highest standards of urologic care by carrying out a wide
variety of programs for members and their patients, including
UrologyHealth.org, an award-winning on-line patient education resource,
and the American Urological Association Foundation, Inc.
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