High levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is often common in cancer patients. This is because there is a high level of cell death occurring, which is a the main reason for elevated LDH. But there are other causes, so it should definitely be checked out.
If you look at Wikipedia, the following information is presented on lactate dehydrogenase (LDH): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactate_dehydrogenase "In medicine, LDH is often used as a marker of tissue breakdown. As LDH is abundant in red blood cells and can function as a marker for hemolysis. A blood sample that has been handled incorrectly can show false-positively high levels of LDH due to erythrocyte damage. It can also be used as a marker of myocardial infarction. Following a myocardial infarction, levels of LDH peak at 3-4 days and remain elevated for up to 10 days. In this way, elevated levels of LDH can be useful for determining if a patient has had a myocardial infarction if they come to doctors several days after an episode of chest pain. Other uses are assessment of tissue breakdown in general; this is possible when there are no other indicators of hemolysis. It is used to follow-up cancer (especially lymphoma) patients, as cancer cells have a high rate of turnover, with destroyed cells leading to an elevated LDH activity." [End Wikipedia Quote] In CML when Gleevec is destroying large numbers of leukemic cells, the LDH would be elevated. This would be normal, especially after just starting Gleevec therapy. Sometimes Allopurinol is given to help clear the bloodstream of impurities. Also, the blood sample could have been mis-handled, giving false information. A re-test should be done to determine if this occurred. If the test is accurate, then several other causes are possible. High LDH could be a sign of a serious issue, such as a heart problem or other organ tissue damage. Because of that, an immediate follow-up test would be advisable. See also the following link: http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=9997 --Trey --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ [CMLHope] A support group of http://cmlhope.com ------------------------------------------------- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CMLHope" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
