Assessment of Lipid Profile among Women with Malignant and Non-malignant Breast Lesions in a Tertiary Hospital, Nigeria: A Pilot Study

Context: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women. Reports suggest a possible relationship between lipids and BC; but the pattern of lipid profile in breast lesions is unknown. Objective: to evaluate the lipid profile of women with BC and compare with benign breast lesions and controls. Study design: Women (107) undergoing breast imaging in Ile-Ife were enrolled for this pilot study and stratified into BC, benign breast lesion (BBL), and controls. Information was obtained by a structured proforma followed by anthropometric measurements and the collection of blood for lipid assays (Total cholesterol [TC], triglyceride [TG], and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDLc]) done on an autoanalyzer. Very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDLc) and Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDLc] were calculated using the Friedewald equation. Mean serum concentrations of lipids were considered as normal, low, or high using standard cutoff. Data was analyzed by SPSS 22 using ANOVA. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Women with BC were significantly younger (51.6±10. 3 vs 62.5±9.5 and 59.0±12.7 years), and had significantly lower mean TG (1.1±0.4 vs 1.5±0.7 and 1.4±0.5 mmol/L), VLDLc (0.51±0.19 Vs 0.69±0.32 and 0.62±0.25 mmol/L) and HDLc (1.1±0.4 vs 1.4±0.3 and 1.5±0.3 mmol/L) than BBL and controls respectively. P < 0.05 However, women with BBL had significantly higher mean TC (6.0 ±1.2 vs 4.8±1.1 and 5.2±1.1 mmol/L), LDL-c (3.9±1.3 vs 3.2 ±0.9 and 3.2±1.0 mmol/L) respectively. P < 0.05 Conclusions: The BC group had hypoalphalipoproteinaemia while the BBL group had hypercholesterolemia. The dyslipidemia in BC is an independent cardiovascular risk factor.