Lactate Dehydrogenase Is a Useful Marker for Predicting the Efficacy of Bevacizumab-containing Chemotherapy in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND/AIM: No biomarkers that predict the benefit from anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibodies have been identified. It is necessary to discover biomarkers that can identify patients who are more likely to benefit from bevacizumab-containing treatment, especially those who are more likely to benefit from treatment with bevacizumab beyond progression (BBP). Levels of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), reported to be an indirect marker of hypoxia and angiogenesis, may be a useful marker for monitoring the efficacy of suppression of angiogenesis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The clinical data of 91 patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer who were treated with bevacizumab-containing chemotherapy as first-line treatment were collected and studied. RESULTS: In the second-line treatment, the bevacizumab plus chemotherapy group showed significantly better progression-free survival (PFS) in comparison to the chemotherapy-alone group in patients with low post-first-line-treatment serum LDH levels. On the other hand, no significant differences in the PFS rate were observed between the two groups in patients with high post-first-line-treatment serum LDH levels. CONCLUSION: The post-first-line-treatment serum LDH levels may, therefore, be useful marker for predicting the efficacy of treatment with BBP.