Evaluation of D-dimer and lactate dehydrogenase plasma levels in patients with relapsed acute leukemia

Despite the outstanding advances made over the past decade regarding our knowledge of acute leukemia (AL), relapsed AL remains to be associated with a dismal prognosis. A better understanding of AL relapse and monitoring of the D-dimer and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) plasma levels following chemotherapy may aid clinicians in determining whether relapse may occur in the subsequent phases of the disease. The present study evaluated D-dimer and LDH levels in 204 patients with relapsed AL. Data were collected at the initial onset of AL, at complete remission (CR) and in patients with relapsed AL. D-dimer plasma levels were significantly increased in patients with initial AL and in patients with relapsed AL (P=0.005 and P=0.007, respectively) but not in those with CR. LDH levels were significantly increased in AL patients at the initial onset of disease and at relapse compared with patients achieving CR, irrespective of cell type. Plasma prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time and fibrinogen levels were not significantly different across patients (with the exception of acute promyelocytic leukemia patients) at the initial onset, relapsed AL or CR. Routine hematological parameters (white blood cell count, hemoglobin, platelet count) were significantly different at the initial onset of AL (P=0.002, P<0.001 and P=0.001, respectively) and during relapsed AL (P=0.009, P=0.003 and P<0.001, respectively) compared with patients achieving CR, suggesting an association between D-dimer, LDH and relapsed AL. These results also indicate that determination of D-dimer and LDH levels may be useful for predicting the probability of relapse during chemotherapy, but should also be combined with routine hematological parameters.