Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase: A Diagnostic Test for Acute Leukemia Subtypes

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Acute leukemia can be categorized into two primary subtypes, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), each of which necessitates distinct therapeutic strategies.This research investigated the diagnostic utility of serum lactate dehydrogenase levels (LDH) for differentiating between ALL and AML, and monitoring disease progression. MATERIALS AND METHODS:The study cohort comprised 82 individuals diagnosed with acute leukemia between January 2015 and December 2020.Serum lactate dehydrogenase concentrations were evaluated at three clinical stages: initial diagnosis, remission, and relapse.Analytical approaches include descriptive statistics, nonparametric Mann-Whitney U tests for intergroup comparisons, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine the diagnostic utility of lactate dehydrogenase.RESULTS: Serum lactate LDH were markedly higher in ALL patients than in AML patients (1.6691.038vs. 413146 IU/L; p<0.001).Lactate dehydrogenase was strongly correlated with blast counts (r=0.62,p<0.001) and moderately correlated with white blood cells (r=0.45,p=0.02).ROC analysis revealed 400 IU/L as the optimal cutoff, yielding 70% sensitivity and 68% specificity (area under the curve =0.75).CONCLUSION: Elevated serum LDH are strongly linked to ALL and could function as a diagnostic marker for distinguishing acute leukemia subtypes and assessing disease progression.Subsequent investigations with expanded patient cohorts are essential to establish its prognostic significance and clinical applicability.