Serum lactate dehydrogenase concentration after transcatheter renal artery embolization correlates with reduction in renal angiomyolipoma volume.

Abstract

The extent of renal angiomyolipoma (AML) volume reduction after renal transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) varies between patients, with no predictive measure available. To determine whether the serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) concentration shortly after TAE correlates with the extent of tumor shrinkage. In a cohort of 36 patients undergoing prophylactic renal TAE for unruptured renal AML, we retrospectively acquired data from patient medical records, including serum LDH before and within 7 days after TAE and the tumor volume before and 12-36 months after TAE. The relationship between the serum level of LDH and reduction in tumor volume was evaluated using Spearman correlation analysis. The median LDH concentration was significantly higher after TAE than before (909.0 U/L vs. 186.5 U/L). This early post-TAE serum LDH level and LDH index (post-TAE LDH / pre-TAE LDH) correlated significantly and positively with the absolute decrease in tumor volume (both P < 0.0001). We observed no significant correlation between the relative tumor volume reduction and serum LDH level or LDH index. Serum LDH elevation occurs shortly after TAE and correlates with the extent of absolute decrease in AML volume at 12-36 months after TAE. Further large-scale studies are warranted to confirm the predictive role of post-TAE serum LDH level and LDH index in tumor shrinkage in patients with unruptured renal AML.