Unfavorable lipoprotein profile in childhood cancer survivors with suprasellar brain tumors--a high Apo B level and increased small dense LDL-cholesterol.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to evaluate atherosclerotic potency among childhood cancer survivors (CCS) with suprasellar tumors.

METHODS

Patients with remitted suprasellar tumors were recruited. A total of 17 subjects with simple obesity of similar ages served as obese controls. Fasting sera were subjected to determination of lipids and apolipoproteins (Apo), including small dense LDL-cholesterol (sdLDL-C).

RESULTS

Twenty-three patients (4-22 years old) were enrolled. Patients, 12/23, had a body mass index (BMI) above the 90th percentile and were designated as 'obese patients'. Obese patients had lower BMI scores (mean 26.4 kg/m(2), p < 0.01) compared to obese controls (mean 31.5 kg/m(2)). Both groups had identical levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, and HDL-C. However, obese patients were found to have a higher incidence of Apo B/Apo A1 ratio elevation (6/12) than obese controls (0/17, p < 0.01). In addition, obese patients had higher sdLDL-C level (47.6 +/- 14.8 mg/dL) than obese controls (28.3 +/- 7.1 mg/dL, p < 0.01). BMI showed strong correlations with both the Apo B/Apo A1 ratio (r = 0.663, p < 0.001) and sdLDL-C (r = 0.606, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

CCS with suprasellar tumors, especially patients with a high BMI, had an unfavorable lipoprotein profile characterized by increased Apo B and sdLDL-C.