Correlation between pretreatment serum LDL-cholesterol levels and prognosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlations between long-term survival outcomes in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and pretreatment serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 2008 and December 2011, 935 patients with newly diagnosed NPC who were treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy were included in this retrospective clinical analysis. Patients were divided into two groups based on pretreatment LDL-C levels: normal LDL-C (≤3.64 mmol/L; n=816) and elevated LDL-C (>3.64 mmol/L; n=119). Associations between pretreatment LDL-C levels and treatment outcome were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The overall patient follow-up rate was 95.1%, and 726 patients received more than 5 years of follow-up. Five-year overall survival (OS), local control (LC), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) rates of the entire patient population were 87.1%, 91.1%, and 87.2%, respectively. Rates of 5-year OS, LC, and DMFS for the elevated versus normal LDL-C groups were 77.0% vs 89.1% (P<0.001), 85.8% vs 91.9% (P=0.041), and 81.1% vs 88.1% (P=0.038), respectively. Compared with normal LDL-C levels, elevated LDL-C levels were identified as an independent prognostic factor of a poorer OS (hazard ratio [HR] =2.171; 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.424–3.309), LC rate (HR =1.762; 95% CI =1.021–3.942), and DMFS (HR =1.594; 95% CI =1.003–2.532). CONCLUSION: This study found that elevated pretreatment LDL-C levels are negative prognostic indicators of NPC. Elevated LDL-C levels may be useful indicators of locoregional control and distant metastasis in NPC patients.