Observational studyThe oncologist2025
Real-world testing of serum lactate dehydrogenase among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer in the United States.
Observational study in The oncologist, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Hyperprogressive disease in carcinoma induced by immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy: a systematic review.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2026Pooled it
- Lactate metabolism and protein lactylation in colorectal cancer: from metabolic reprogramming to epigenetic regulation.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Baseline inflammatory and metabolic indicators associated with early PD-1 inhibitor resistance in advanced cervical cancer: a retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSerum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is a potential prognostic biomarker of outcomes in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). This retrospective, observational study assessed real-world LDH testing patterns and LDH as a prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) in US patients receiving chemotherapy for mCRC.
methodsPatients with mCRC who initiated first-line chemotherapy between January 1, 2016, and November 30, 2022, were selected from a nationwide de-identified Electronic Health Record-derived database. LDH value was categorized based on laboratory reference ranges. The prognostic relationship between pretreatment LDH value and OS was assessed using Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards models.
resultsOf 15 329 adult patients (median age 64 years), 3379 (22%) had LDH testing at or postindex; 21% had abnormal baseline values, while 40% had normal values. Patients with abnormal LDH levels were more likely to be female (47% abnormal LDH vs 41% normal LDH), ≥ 65 years of age (52% vs 49%), Black or African American (12% vs 7%), or reside in the Northeast (30% vs 21%). The median OS (95% CI) in patients with normal baseline LDH was 29.9 (28.3-31.7) vs 16.8 (14.8-18.2) months for those with abnormal LDH. In a multivariate Cox proportional-hazards model, patients with abnormal baseline LDH had higher risk of death (HR 1.91, P < .0001) after adjustment for demographic/clinical characteristics.
conclusionsAbnormal baseline LDH levels were associated with shorter OS; however, only one-fifth of patients receiving chemotherapy underwent LDH testing. Efforts to increase LDH testing could be valuable in helping guide treatment decisions.
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