Purpose

The association between blood lipid levels and the risk of developing liver cancer remains a subject of ongoing debate. To elucidate this association, we conducted a meta-analysis by systematically incorporating data from all relevant prospective cohort studies.

Methods

We conducted a systematic search of the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases covering studies published from database inception through July 2023. This study included prospective cohort studies related to lipid profiles (e.g., total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels) that reported hazard ratios (HRs) or relative risks (RRs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) to investigate their association with the risk of liver cancer. During the analysis process, we used fixed-effects or random-effects models based on the level of heterogeneity among the studies and obtained pooled risk ratios using these models. To ensure the robustness and reliability of the study findings, we also conducted sensitivity analyses and publication bias analyses.

Results

After conducting a systematic search, 12 studies were identified from a total of 11,904 articles and were included in the meta-analysis. These studies included a combined population of 10,765,221 participants, among whom 31,055 cases of liver cancer were reported. The analysis revealed that the pooled HR for the serum TC concentration (highest versus lowest) was 0.45 (95% CI = 0.35–0.58, I² = 78%). For TGs, the HR was 0.67 (95% CI = 0.46–0.96, I² = 86%), while for HDL-C, the HR was 0.72 (95% CI = 0.58–0.90, I² = 65%). The HR for LDL-C was 0.51 (95% CI = 0.23–1.13, I² = 93%).

Conclusion

The findings of this study indicate that serum TC, TG, and HDL-C levels are negatively associated with liver cancer risk, suggesting that higher concentrations of these lipids are associated with a reduced risk of liver cancer. However, no significant association has been found between LDL-C levels and liver cancer risk.

中文翻译：

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血脂水平与肝癌风险之间的关联：系统评价和荟萃分析

目的

血脂水平与肝癌风险之间的关系仍然是一个持续争论的话题。为了阐明这种关联，我们系统地整合了所有相关前瞻性队列研究的数据，进行了荟萃分析。

方法

我们对 PubMed、Embase、Web of Science 和 Cochrane 图书馆数据库进行了系统检索，涵盖从数据库建立到 2023 年 7 月期间发表的研究。这项研究包括与脂质谱相关的前瞻性队列研究（例如，总胆固醇 (TC)、甘油三酯、 TG）、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇（HDL-C）和低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C）水平）报告了危险比（HR）或相对风险（RR）以及相应的95％置信区间（95％CI） ）调查它们与肝癌风险的关联。在分析过程中，我们根据研究之间的异质性水平使用固定效应或随机效应模型，并使用这些模型获得汇总风险比。为了确保研究结果的稳健性和可靠性，我们还进行了敏感性分析和发表偏倚分析。

结果

经过系统检索后，从总共 11,904 篇文章中确定了 12 项研究，并将其纳入荟萃分析。这些研究总共包括 10,765,221 名参与者，其中报告了 31,055 例肝癌病例。分析显示，血清 TC 浓度的汇总 HR（最高与最低）为 0.45（95% CI = 0.35–0.58，I ²  = 78%）。对于 TG，HR 为 0.67（95% CI = 0.46–0.96，I ²  = 86%），而对于 HDL-C，HR 为 0.72（95% CI = 0.58–0.90，I ²  = 65%）。LDL-C 的 HR 为 0.51（95% CI = 0.23–1.13，I ²  = 93%）。

结论

这项研究的结果表明，血清 TC、TG 和 HDL-C 水平与肝癌风险呈负相关，这表明这些脂质浓度较高与肝癌风险降低相关。然而，未发现 LDL-C 水平与肝癌风险之间存在显着关联。