Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) is a protein that can be found throughout the body and whose levels can be measured in the blood. Many benign diseases, as well as many types of cancer, can cause elevated blood levels of LDH. Therefore, levels of this substance are not usually used in isolation for the diagnosis of cancer.
Melanoma and colorectal cancer are examples of malignancies that cause increased levels of LDH. LDH can also increase in situations where tumor cells are destroyed too quickly during cancer treatment, a condition called tumor lysis syndrome.
LDH levels have been more commonly used as a prognostic factor for certain tumors, such as lymphomas. In addition, the determination of LDH may be useful in monitoring the treatment of some types of cancer, in order to assess the response to treatment.
