Low cholesterol associated with hepatitis C related liver cancer

This study was published in the International Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association Journal 2010 Nov;12(9):625-36

 

Study title and authors:

Evidence of aberrant lipid metabolism in hepatitis C and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Wu JM, Skill NJ, Maluccio MA.

Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. jw17@iupui.edu

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20961371

The association of cholesterol levels with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HCV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) was assessed in 73 patients with HCV-associated cirrhosis and cancer and 103 normal controls.

The study found that the cholesterol levels of the patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HCV-related liver cancer were 19% lower than the normal controls.

Saturated fat and dietary cholesterol protect against alcoholic liver cirrhosis

This study was published in Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research 1986 Jun;10(3):271-3

Study title and authors:

Dietary factors and alcoholic cirrhosis.

Nanji AA, French SW.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3526949

Nanji notes that death rates from alcoholic liver cirrhosis in many countries deviate markedly from that expected for a given per capita alcohol intake.

This study investigated the possibility that dietary factors might explain the deviation from expected and actual mortality rates in different countries. Data was gathered from 17 countries.

The study found that:
(a) High consumption of dietary cholesterol was associated with less cirrhosis.
(b) High consumption of saturated fat was associated with less cirrhosis.
(c) High consumption of polyunsaturated fat was associated with more cirrhosis.

This study suggests that both saturated fat and dietary cholesterol protect against alcoholic cirrhosis while polyunsaturated fats promote cirrhosis.