The objective here was to summarize the evidence for, and quantify the link between,
serum markers of lipid metabolism and risk of
obesity-related
cancers. PubMed and Embase were searched using predefined inclusion criteria to conduct meta-analyses on the association between serum levels of TG, TC, HDL,
ApoA-I, and risk of 11
obesity-related
cancers. Pooled relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using random-effects analyses. 28 studies were included. Associations between abnormal
lipid components and risk of
obesity-related
cancers when using clinical cutpoints (TC ≥ 6.50; TG ≥ 1.71; HDL ≤ 1.03;
ApoA-I ≤ 1.05 mmol/L) were apparent in all models. RRs were 1.18 (95% CI: 1.08-1.29) for TC, 1.20 (1.07-1.35) for TG, 1.15 (1.01-1.32) for HDL, and 1.42 (1.17-1.74) for
ApoA-I. High levels of TC and TG, as well as low levels of HDL and
ApoA-I, were consistently associated with increased risk of
obesity-related
cancers. The modest RRs suggest serum
lipids to be associated with the risk of
cancer, but indicate it is likely that other markers of the metabolism and/or lifestyle factors may also be involved. Future intervention studies involving lifestyle modification would provide insight into the potential biological role of lipid metabolism in
tumorigenesis.