title: Prognostic value of preoperative serum lactate dehydrogenase in thymic carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The prognostic value of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) has been demonstrated in various solid tumors. We attempted to determine whether serum LDH was predictive of survival in thymic carcinoma after surgical resection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-five patients with thymic carcinoma treated in our hospital between January 2005 and December 2015 were retrospectively enrolled. Serum LDH was measured before surgery and categorized as low or high relative to the upper limit of normal (ULN) (225 U/L). The relationships of serum LDH level and other clinical variables with survival were estimated by Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum LDH levels were found to be significantly associated with overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of these patients. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year PFS were 76%, 51%, and 38%, and the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS were 97%, 75%, and 46%, respectively. Univariate analysis found that high serum LDH (>225 U/L) was associated with both lower OS [hazard ratio (HR) =2.710; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.363-1.5.391; P=0.004] and PFS (HR =3.365; 95% CI: 1.776-6.374; P<0.001). Multivariate analysis found that high serum LDH was associated with lower PFS (HR =2.122; 95% CI: 1.056-4.267; P=0.035). Moreover, high LDH was significantly associated with advanced Masaoka stage (P=0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High serum LDH (>225 U/L) was an independent predictor of decreased PFS in thymic carcinoma patients. It was also significantly associated with reduced OS, but was not an independent predictor of death in those patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
authors.forename: Zu-Yang
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Geng
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
authors.forename: Ju-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
authors.forename: You-Sheng
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
authors.forename: Da-Li
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Shun
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: He
keywords: Thymic carcinoma; lactate dehydrogenase (LDH); prognosis