Title:The Correlation between Lipid Metabolism Disorders and Prostate Cancer
Volume: 28
Issue: 10
Author(s): Justyna Dłubek, Jacek Rysz, Zbigniew Jabłonowski, Anna Gluba-Brzózka*Beata Franczyk
Affiliation:
- Department of Nephrology, Hypertension and Family Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Zeromskiego 113, 90-549 Lodz,Poland
Keywords:
Prostate cancer, carcinogenesis, cholesterol levels, lipids disorders, metastasis, cells growth, gene
therapy.
Abstract: Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer affecting the male population
all over the world. The existence of a correlation between lipid metabolism disorders and cancer
of the prostate gland has been widely known for a long time. According to hypotheses,
cholesterol may contribute to prostate cancer progression as a result of its participation as a
signaling molecule in prostate growth and differentiation via numerous biologic mechanisms
including Akt signaling and de novo steroidogenesis. The results of some studies suggest that
increased cholesterol levels may be associated with a higher risk of a more aggressive course
of the disease. The aforementioned alterations in the synthesis of fatty acids are a unique feature
of cancer and, therefore, constitute an attractive target for therapeutic intervention in the
treatment of prostate cancer. Pharmacological or gene therapy aims to reduce the activity of
enzymes involved in de novo synthesis of fatty acids, FASN, ACLY (ATP citrate lyase) or
SCD-1 (Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase) in particular, that may result in cells growth arrest. Nevertheless,
not all cancers are unequivocally associated with hypocholesterolaemia. It cannot be
ruled out that the relationship between prostate cancer and lipid disorders is not a direct quantitative
correlation between carcinogenesis and the amount of circulating cholesterol. Perhaps
the correspondence is more sophisticated and connected to the distribution of cholesterol fractions
or even sub-fractions of e.g. HDL cholesterol.