High cholesterol could aid cancer spread

High cholesterol could affect a body’s ability to fight cancer as well as increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke, it has emerged.

Cholesterol is found in every cell of the body and has important natural functions when it comes to digesting foods, producing hormones, and generating vitamin D.

Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have discovered the engine that powers cancer-killing cells and that it can be switched off by cholesterol-like molecules. Natural killer cells are immune cells that play a major role in the body’s defence against cancer, as they can directly kill tumour cells.