High cholesterol significantly reduces the risk of breast cancer

This study was published in Ethnicty and Disease 2012 Summer;22(3):281-7

Study title and authors:
Cholesterol, lipoproteins, and breast cancer risk in African American women.

Llanos AA, Makambi KH, Tucker CA, Wallington SF, Shields PG, Adams-Campbell LL.
Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057, USA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22870570

The study investigated the relationship between cholesterol levels and the risk of breast cancer. The study included 97 African American women with breast cancer and 102 control subjects.

The study found:
(a) Higher levels of cholesterol were associated with a 54% reduction in breast cancer risk.
(b) Higher levels of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol were associated with a 59% reduction in breast cancer risk.
(c) Lower levels of High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were associated with a 99% increase in breast cancer risk.

The data from the study demonstrates significant reductions in breast cancer risk with high levels of total cholesterol & LDL cholesterol and significant increase in risk when HDL cholesterol levels are low.