Serum Cholesterol and Apolipoprotein B Levels May Reflect Disease Activity in Ovarian Cancer Patients

Abstract

Data in the literature demonstrates increased receptor-mediated uptake of low density lipoprotein (LDL) in many types of malignant cells compared with normal cells. In acute leukemia, an inverse correlation has been demonstrated between disease activity and plasma cholesterol. To explore whether this is true also for ovarian cancer a case-control study was performed. We serially collected blood samples and assayed serum cholesterol and apolipoprotein B (the receptor recognizing moiety of LDL) in 10 patients with ovarian cancer. At diagnosis, the patients had lower mean cholesterol levels compared with 6 healthy women. An increase was found after primary surgery and after successful initial chemotherapy. The 5 patients who are in complete remission after a mean follow-up time of 79 months had higher cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels at their last visit than at diagnosis. In contrast, a reduction of the two analytes was found in the patients who died from their ovarian cancer 15 to 28 months after diagnosis. The results may open a possibility for targetted chemotherapy in ovarian cancer with LDL as a drug carrier.