Serum Cholesterol and Triglycerides in Hematological Malignancies

Abstract

Serum levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides were studied in 202 patients affected by various hematological malignancies at the time of diagnosis. A hypocholesterolemia was found in 44% of patients affected by lymphoproliferative diseases and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, with an evident correlation with the clinical stage (5.7% of patients in nonadvanced stages, 67.8% in advanced stages). In acute and chronic myelo-proliferative diseases, the overall incidence of hypocholesterolemia was 71 %. In particular, a greater incidence of low cholesterol values was found in chronic myeloid leukemia and in idiopathic myelofibrosis than in polycythemia vera. No significant correlation was found in this group of diseases between the values of cholesterol and the main hematological parameters studied (WBC, number of circulating blasts, degree of splenomegaly, levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit). The incidence of significant alterations of triglycerides appeared negligible. It is thus possible to affirm that hypocholesterolemia constitutes an interesting biological aspect in hematological malignancies, and that total cholesterol could represent a parameter, even though secondary, in the follow-up of hematological neoplastic pathologies.

Psychological Distress in HIV-1 Disease in Relationship to Hypocholesterolemia

“…A similar prevalence of low cholesterol levels (44%) has been reported in patients affected by lymphoproliferative disease [35]. As indicated in Table 1 …”

Acute leukemia in polycythemia vera: an analysis of 1638 patients enrolled in a prospective observational study

“…Some small studies have found low levels of cholesterol in patients affected by hematologic malignancies, [34][35][36][37] and some of these reports include patients with PV. 34,[36][37] It has been observed that the lowest levels of blood cholesterol are observed in advanced stages of proliferative diseases, and some have suggested the use of this parameter as a marker of disease activity.…”

“…Some small studies have found low levels of cholesterol in patients affected by hematologic malignancies, [34][35][36][37] and some of these reports include patients with PV. 34,[36][37] It has been observed that the lowest levels of blood cholesterol are observed in advanced stages of proliferative diseases, and some have suggested the use of this parameter as a marker of disease activity. [33][34][35] Given that the average total blood cholesterol level in a 35-to 75-year-old Mediterranean population, such as Italian, is 206 mg/dL, 38 the average cholesterol level of the ECLAP population (187.4 mg/dL) is surprisingly low and is indicative of the proliferative nature of the disease.…”

“…34,[36][37] It has been observed that the lowest levels of blood cholesterol are observed in advanced stages of proliferative diseases, and some have suggested the use of this parameter as a marker of disease activity. [33][34][35] Given that the average total blood cholesterol level in a 35-to 75-year-old Mediterranean population, such as Italian, is 206 mg/dL, 38 the average cholesterol level of the ECLAP population (187.4 mg/dL) is surprisingly low and is indicative of the proliferative nature of the disease. In addition to patients with progression to AML/MDS, others who acquired myelofibrosis also had more noticeable hypocholesterolemia (data not shown).…”

Hypocholesterolemia in hairy cell leukemia: A marker for proliferative activity

“…Hypocholesterolemia has been observed in patients with a variety of hematologic malignancies, including myeloproliferative disorders [1][2][3][4], acute myeloid leukemia [5][6][7], acute lymphocytic leukemia [8,9], chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) [10], and nonmalignant disorders associated with splenomegaly [11]. The cause of hypocholesterolemia in these diseases has not been determined.…”