Is serum lactate dehydrogenase useful for predicting oncological outcome in patients with soft tissue sarcoma?

Abstract

Background/Aim: The aim of the present study was to determine whether serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels before treatment could predict the disease-specific and event-free survival in adult patients with STS. Patients and Methods: A total of 142 adult patients with primary STS were reviewed. The average follow-up was 73 months with a minimum 2-year follow-up. Results: Age was significantly associated with LDH. Tumor grade, sex, tumor size, tumor depth, CRP levels, Hb levels and albumin levels were not related. LDH levels were not significantly related to the oncological outcome including disease-specific survival and event-free survival in multivariate analysis. CRP levels were significantly related to the oncological outcome including event-free survival. Conclusion: Elevated LDH levels prior to initial treatment were not found to be a poor prognostic factor of oncological outcome in adult STS, in both the univariate and multivariate analyses. We recommend routine measurement of the CRP levels for predicting oncological outcome.