Abstract
8093 Background: In patients with symptomatic multiple myeloma, the clinical features, responses to treatment, and survival times vary. Well established predictors of survival include the International Staging System (ISS), cytogenetic abnormalities, and response to therapy. Long recognized has been the association of high serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) with advanced disease and shorter survival. We focused here on the impact of high LDH on staging and prognosis in order to guide the role of recent advances in therapy. Methods: We evaluated 1,247 patients with newly diagnosed, symptomatic myeloma from 10/74 to 7/11. Our goal was to determine the prognostic value of high LDH (>300 IU/L) in relation to ISS stage. We also compared the frequencies of anemia, hypercalcemia, and response to therapy in patients with high LDH with those of patients with Stage III disease and normal LDH values. Results: All 1,139 patients with normal LDH lived significantly longer than the 108 patients with elevated values (47 vs. 16 months, p <.01). LDH was elevated in 9% of all patients, but in 2%, 6%, and 18% of patients with ISS-I, II, and III disease, respectively. Their survival times were also significantly shorter than those of comparable patients in each stage with normal LDH (table). Among the 108 patients with high LDH, the frequencies of hemoglobin <8.5 g/dl (54 vs. 41%, p=.03), and serum calcium>11.5 mg/dl (41 vs. 27%, p<.01) were significantly higher than those of 292 patients with Stage III disease and normal LDH, and the frequency of response to therapy was less (40 vs. 62%, p<.01). Conclusions: Serum lactate dehydrogenase provides a convenient and dependable prognostic indicator in patients with multiple myeloma. An elevated LDH value indicates a poor prognosis regardless of ISS stage, confirming the report by Gkotzamanidou, Terpos, and Dimopoulos et al, and should be included in the definition of stage III disease. Such patients require rapid control of disease with sequential combinations of effective drugs and intensive therapy in order to improve their outcome. [Table: see text]
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