Family history of esophageal cancer modifies the association of serum lipids and malignant esophageal lesions: a nested case-control study from the “Endoscopic Screening for Esophageal Cancer in China” trial

BACKGROUND: The association of lipids and cancer has varied greatly among different cancer types, lipid components and study populations. This study is aimed to investigate the association of serum lipids and the risk of malignant lesions in esophageal squamous epithelium. METHODS: In the “Endoscopic Screening for Esophageal Cancer in China” (ESECC) trial, serum samples were collected and tested for total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol at the time of subject enrollment. Cases were defined as malignant esophageal lesions identified by baseline endoscopic examination or by follow-up to May 31, 2018. Controls were randomly selected using incidence density sampling in the same cohort. Conditional logistic models were applied to identify the association of serum lipids and the risk of malignant esophageal lesions. Effect modification was evaluated by testing interaction terms of the factor under assessment and these serum lipid indicators. RESULTS: No consistent association between serum lipid levels and esophageal malignant lesions were found in a pooled analysis of 211 cases and 2101 controls. For individuals with a family history of esophageal cancer (EC), high TC, and LDL-C were associated with a significantly increased risk of having malignant lesions (odds ratio [OR](High vs. Low TC) = 2.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14–4.35; OR(High vs. Low LDL-C) = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.01–3.65). However, a negative association was observed in participants without an EC family history (OR(High vs. Low TC) = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.48–0.98, P(interaction) = 0.002; OR(High vs. Low LDL-C) = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.34–0.76, P(interaction) < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we found that the association of serum lipids and malignant esophageal lesions might be modified by EC family history. The stratified analysis would be crucial for population-based studies investigating the association of serum lipids and cancer. The mechanism by which a family history of EC modifies this association warrants further investigation.