Evaluation of cholesterol levels in hematological malignities

Intraduction and Objective: Hematological malignancies result from excessive uncontrolled development of hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues. These malignancies are classified according to morphological, genetic, immunophenotypic, and clinical features. Acute or chronic leukemias, lymphomas, and plasma cell dyscrasias are the main types of hematological malignancies. While these cancers are approximately 9.0% of cancers in the USA and Europe, they constitute 6.5% of all cancers in the world. In many studies conducted in patients with hematological malignancies, it has been investigated whether there is a relationship between various laboratory parameters and hematological malignancies. This study aims to investigate the relationship between lipid parameters evaluated with a blood sample taken before diagnosis (high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, and total cholesterol) and major hematological malignancies (acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, lymphomas, and multiple myeloma) in patients diagnosed with hematological malignancies. The research aims to evaluate the effect of lipid parameters on the onset and duration of disease in remission. Material and Method: One hundred thirty-one patients diagnosed with hematological malignancy at Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University Health Application and Research Center were included in the study between 01.01.2015 and 31.12.2021. The patients' malignancy types, age, gender, HDL, LDL, TG, total cholesterol values, and the duration of entering remission and staying in remission were determined. The relationship among hematological malignancies types, lipid values, the duration of entry into remission, and the duration of stay in remission was examined. Results: 131 patients were included in the study. 51.9% of the patients were male and 48.1% were female. The mean age was 66.12±13.78 years. 12.9% of the patients were diagnosed with acute leukemia, 25.1% with chronic leukemia, 32% with MM, and 29.7% with lymphoma. 53 (40.5%) of the 131 patients included in the study were in remission and 78 (59.5%) were in the relapse clinical group. In this study, a significant correlation was found in the HDL (mg/dl) values of the patients according to the mean of the remission and relapse groups (p<0.05). The HDL (mg/dl) values of the patients in the remission clinical group were significantly lower than the patients in the relapse group. However, no significant correlation was found between the LDL, TG, and total cholesterol values of the patients and the remission-relapse groups (p>0.05). In the study, a significant difference was found between the elapsed time (months) of the remission and the relapse of the patients' diagnosis groups (acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, MM, and lymphoma) (p<0.05). According to the relationship, the elapsed time between remission and relapse (months) in the chronic leukemia group was significantly higher than in the acute leukemia, MM, and lymphoma groups. In this study, a significant difference was found in the elapsed time between diagnosis and remission in chronic leukemia patients and the age values of the patients (p<0.05). When the relationship is examined, there is a positive and moderate relationship in the chronic leukemia diagnosis group between the elapsed time (months) of the diagnosis and the relapse and age values of the patients. No significant relationships were found in other statistical evaluations of the patients (p>0.05). Conclusion: In this study, no correlation was found between hematological malignancy diagnosis groups and lipid levels. However, a relationship was found between lipid levels and patients in the remission and relapse group with a diagnosis of hematological malignancy. When the relationship was examined, the HDL levels of the patients in the remission group were found to be significantly lower than those in the relapse group. In line with these data, it was concluded that lipid parameters can be effective on remission and recurrence times and can be used as a marker. It is important to carry out studies examining the relationship between lipid parameters and hematological cancers in order to obtain clearer data. Considering the results of this study, it can be thought that it will contribute to larger-scale and multicenter studies in the future. Keywords: Hematology, Malignancy, Cholesterol, Remission, Relapse