Potential link found between high lipoprotein A levels and prostate cancer risk

New analysis has uncovered a potential link between higher prostate cancer risk and genetic variants associated with higher levels of lipoprotein A.

In a new study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, researchers from the School of Public Health, along with collaborators, analysed links between prostate cancer risk and several blood lipids. The team utilised data from two large research initiatives U.K. Biobank and the PRACTICAL consortium in order to analyse genomic and prostate cancer-risk data for hundreds of thousands of individuals.

The study employed a method known as Mendelian randomisation, which harnesses the inherent randomness of the genetic process of meiosis to boost the validity of an analysis. Instead of considering direct measurements of lipids in the bloodstream, the researchers evaluated variations in individuals’ DNA sequences that are associated with different blood levels of the lipids. Then, they analyzed if these genetic variants were statistically linked to prostate cancer risk.

The analysis showed that genetic variants that predict higher blood levels of lipoprotein A were associated with a higher overall risk of prostate cancer, and also a higher risk of advanced or early-age-onset prostate cancer. The researchers did not find any significant associations for any of the other blood lipids.

These findings suggest the possibility that lipoprotein A-lowering drugs could be developed or repurposed to lower risk of prostate cancer for some individuals. More research will be needed to confirm the associations observed in this study and to clarify the underlying biological mechanisms.

Senior author Kostas Tsilidis said: “If lipoprotein A is higher in men at greater risk of prostate cancer, and this is confirmed in further studies, that could inform prostate cancer prevention through lipoprotein A lowering strategies. Currently marketed lipid-lowering medications reduce lipoprotein A blood levels only partially, and novel lipoprotein A targeting therapies are actively being investigated, as this lipoprotein has been also associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease.”