Associations of preoperative serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels with the prognosis of ovarian cancer

Background The effect of serum lipids on ovarian cancer is controversial. We conducted this study to evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative plasma lipid profile in patients with ovarian cancer. Methods The medical records of 156 epithelial ovarian cancer patients who underwent surgical resection in our department were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Serum lipids profiles, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), apolipoprotein B (apoB) and clinicopathologic data, were analyzed. Cox proportional hazards regression analyses and Kaplan-Meier method were performed to evaluate the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Results Multivariable Cox regression analysis found that preoperative higher LDL-C level was significantly associated with worse OS (HR 2.088, 95% CI 1.052-4.147, p = 0.035), whereas higher HDL-C level showed significant association with better PFS (HR 0.491, 95% CI 0.247-0.975, p = 0.042). Further Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that OS was longer for patients with low levels of LDL-C (< 2.76 mmol/L) compared to those with high levels of LDL-C (>= 2.76 mmol/L) (P = 0.028), and PFS was better for patients with high levels of HDL-C (>= 1.19 mmol/L) compared to those with low levels of HDL-C (< 1.19 mmol/L) (P = 0.001). Conclusions Preoperative HDL-C and LDL-C levels are significant predictors of clinical outcome in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.