Lipid profile an important risk factor in patients with ovarian tumors: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Introduction: In the literature ovarian tumors are knowed to be one of the most deadliest gynecological malignancies [1-4]. In US this type of malignancy represents 2.3 % of all cancer-related death and about 4 % of all new cancer cases among women. There are several studies that have reported the role of lipid profiles and it’s role in ovarian tumorigenesis. Fatty acids are essential for cancer cells progression[4-8]. In our study we investigated the true differance in circulating lipid profiles (total cholesterol TC, triglyceride TG, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol HDL, low density lipoprotein cholesterol LDL) among patients with and without ovarian tumors (OT) using a meta-analytical approach. Mehods: The meta-analysis was conducted using the MOOSE guidelines. PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library were extensively searched ( with a period of publication restriction between 2007 and 2019) to indetify published studies using the following keywords: “ total cholesterol ”, “high-density lipoprotein”, “ triglycerides ”, “ low-density lipoprotein ”, “ ovarian cancer”, “ ovarian tumor ”, “ lipid profile ”. The search methodology is shown in Fig. 1 and all references of retrieved articles were searched manually. Results: Seven studies, involving 1542 OT cases and 2195 non-cases of OT were included in this meta-analysis and I² statistics ranged between 97 and 99%. Mean circulating TC and HDL were significantly lower among OT cases compared to non-OT cases (P<0.04 and P<0.005). Conclusion: There is a modest significant association between circulating HDL and risk of ovarian tumor but it is crucial to elucidate the implications of HDL in tumor manifestations and growth.