Preoperative low-density lipoprotein cholesterol as a predictor of favorable prognosis in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that dyslipidemia is closely tied to a variety of cancers, and the level of low-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) is related to the prognosis of cancer patients. However, what remains unclear is the predictive meaning of LDL-C among patients who suffer from renal cell carcinoma, especially clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC). The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between the preoperative levels of serum LDL-C and the prognosis of surgical patients who suffer from clear cell renal cell carcinoma. METHODS: A total of 308 CCRCC patients that received radical or partial nephrectomy were retrospectively included in this study. The clinical data of each included patient were collected. Overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed that a higher LDL-C level indicated a better OS and CSS in CCRCC patients (P=0.002 and P=0.001, respectively). The same was shown in the Multivariate analysis that a higher LDL-C level indicated a better OS and CSS in CCRCC patients (P<0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). Following propensity score matching (PSM) analysis, a higher LDL-C level still existed as an ideal indicator for both OS and CSS. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicated that a higher serum level of LDL-C showed clinical significance for predicting better OS and CSS in patients with CCRCC.