title: Prognostic significance of serum lactate dehydrogenase levels in Ewing's sarcoma: A meta-analysis.
abstract: A number of studies have investigated the role of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels in patients with Ewing's sarcoma, although these have yielded inconsistent and inconclusive results. Therefore, the present study aimed to systematically review the published studies and conduct a meta-analysis to assess its prognostic value more precisely. Cohort studies assessing the prognostic role of LDH levels in patients with Ewing's sarcoma were included. A pooled hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of overall survival (OS) or 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) was used to assess the prognostic role of the levels of serum LDH. Nine studies published between 1980 and 2014, with a total of 1,412 patients with Ewing's sarcoma, were included. Six studies, with a total of 644 patients, used OS as the primary endpoint and four studies, with 795 patients, used 5-year DFS. Overall, the pooled HR evaluating high LDH levels was 2.90 (95% CI: 2.09-4.04) for OS and 2.40 (95% CI: 1.93-2.98) for 5-year DFS. This meta-analysis demonstrates that high levels of serum LDH are associated with lower OS and 5-year DFS rates in patients with Ewing's sarcoma. Therefore, serum LDH levels are an effective biomarker of Ewing's sarcoma prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai General Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Suoyuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Fudan University-Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital, Qingpu Branch, Shanghai, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai 10th People's Hospital, School of Medicine Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hongsheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhuoying
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai 10th People's Hospital, School of Medicine Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dongqing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai General Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhengdong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yingqi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hua
keywords: Ewing's sarcoma; lactate dehydrogenase; meta-analysis; prognosis