Purpose: The clinical impacts of serum lipid levels on prostate cancer recurrence after radical prostatectomy have been evaluated by several observational studies with conflicting results. We performed the present meta-analysis to summarize the evidence evaluating the role of serum lipid profile in prostate cancer patients.
Methods: We comprehensively searched the PubMed database for potentially relevant studies through January 2019. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the highest versus the lowest level of serum lipid levels were calculated with the DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model.
Results: A total of 12 eligible studies with 10,978 prostate cancer cases were included in this study. The pooled HRs of prostate cancer recurrence after racial prostatectomy were 0.92 (95% CI 0.73–1.16, P =0.462), 0.87 (95% CI 0.56–1.35, P =0.535), 1.09 (95% CI 0.92–1.30, P =0.320), and 1.01 (95% CI 0.78–1.31, P =0.938) for serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and triglyceride, respectively. Sensitivity analysis was conducted by excluding each study sequentially and the results showed that all the summary risk estimates were stable and not influenced by any single study.
Conclusion: The present meta-analysis indicated that serum lipid levels in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy were not associated with prostate cancer recurrence.
Keywords: serum lipids, prostate cancer, recurrence, radical prostatectomy, meta-analysis