Expressions of serum tumor markers in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and their clinical significances

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression levels of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), sugar chain antigen-125 (CA125), and β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) in peripheral blood of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and their clinical significances. Methods Thirty cases of DLBCL diagnosed by pathology in Fenyang Hospital of Shanxi Province and Shanxi Dayi Hospital from December 2011 to June 2013, 20 cases of healthy individuals as normal control group were enrolled. The levels of serum VEGF, CA125 and β2-MG in peripheral blood were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serum levels of LDH were detected by the rate method for measuring. Results The expression levels of VEGF, LDH, CA125 and β2-MG in DLBCL patients were higher than those in the healthy control group [(368±194) vs. (156±48) pg/ml, t= 5.718, P= 0.000; (487±252) vs. (177±32) U/L, t= 6.658, P= 0.000; (58±16) vs. (19±10) U/ml, t= 9.701, P= 0.000; (3.1±1.5) vs. (1.6±0.3) mg/L, t= 5.612, P= 0.000]. The expression levels of serum VEGF and LDH in DLBCL patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ were significantly higher than those in patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ [(506±165) vs. (275±154) pg/ml, t= 3.896, P= 0.000; (886±433) vs. (220±86) U/L, t= 5.244, P= 0.000]. The expression levels of VEGF and LDH in DLBCL patients with bone marrow infiltration were higher than those in patients without bone marrow infiltration [(505±201) vs. (299±152) pg/ml, t= 3.148, P= 0.004; (798±463) vs. (331±166) U/L, t= 3.113, P= 0.005]. There were no significant differences in the expression levels of VEGF and LDH between patients with A symptoms and B symptoms (all P > 0.05). The serum levels of CA125 and β2-MG in the observation group had not relationship with clinical stage, the presence of A or B symptoms and the presence of bone marrow infiltration (all P > 0.05). The high expression of VEGF had correlation with the high expression of LDH in the observation group (r= 0.458, P < 0.05). Conclusions The expression levels of VEGF, LDH, CA125 and β2-MG in DLBCL patients before treatment are high, and the high expression levels of VEGF and LDH are closely related to the clinical stage, disease progression and invasion. Combined detection of VEGF and LDH may be a useful predictor of bone marrow involvement in patients with DLBCL. Key words: Lymphoma, large B-cell, diffuse; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Lactate dehydrogenase; Carbohydrate antigen; β2-microglobulin