Abstract

Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels sometimes act as a good index of response to the treatment of malignant lymphoma. The cause of increases in LDH levels during chemotherapy with recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rG-CSF) is not always clear, i.e. whether or not these increases are because of the disease activity or are a side effect of rG-CSF therapy. In this study we evaluated the changes in LDH levels during chemotherapy supported by rG-CSF in patients with malignant lymphoma. A total of 128 courses of rG-CSF chemotherapy were administered to 42 patients with malignant lymphoma. 87 (66%) of these treatment courses were associated with abnormalities in LDH levels, white blood cell count (WBC) and/or alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels. We found significant correlations between the dose of rG-CSF and the frequency of ALP and WBC, but not LDH, abnormalities. Increases in LDH levels during chemotherapy were more frequently seen in patients who had elevated pretreatment LDH levels. Although increases in LDH levels may be a side effect of rG-CSF therapy, we must be aware of the probability that they may represent the activity of malignant lymphoma, especially in patients with increased pretreatment LDH levels.

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