Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) is a protein found throughout the body, and its levels can be measured in the blood. Many benign diseases, as well as numerous types of cancer, can cause elevated blood levels of LDH. Therefore, the levels of this substance are not usually used alone for cancer diagnosis.
Melanoma and colorectal cancer are examples of malignant neoplasms that cause an increase in LDH levels. High lactic dehydrogenase can indicate that tumor cells are being destroyed very rapidly during cancer treatment, a situation called tumor lysis syndrome.
LDH levels have been more commonly used as a prognostic factor for certain tumors, such as lymphomas. Additionally, LDH levels, with LDH above 480 or LDH above 1000, can be useful in monitoring the treatment of some types of cancer, aiming to evaluate the response to treatment.
