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Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Mapping Metabolism: Monitoring Lactate Dehydrogenase Activity Directly in Tissue
Published on: June 21, 2018
Meta-analysis of serum lactate dehydrogenase and prognosis for osteosarcoma
Yucheng Fu1, Tao Lan, Hongliu Cai
1Department of Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province Department of Spine Surgery, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province Department of Orthopedics, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, PR China.
Backgrounds:
A large number of studies have reported the relationships between serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and prognosis of osteosarcoma. However, the result is still controversial and no consensus has been reached. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic role of serum LDH in osteosarcoma patients.
Methods:
We performed the systematic computerized search for eligible articles from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases until December 21, 2017. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were obtained to assess the prognostic value of serum LDH.
Results:
A total of 18 studies with 2543 osteosarcoma patients were included. Overall, 15 studies assessed the elevated serum LDH level on OS and the pooled HR was 1.87 (95% CI = 1.58-2.20). Meanwhile, the pooled HR to evaluate the relationship between serum LDH and EFS in 9 studies was 1.78 (95% CI = 1.51-2.10). The same results were acquired when these studies were stratified by Enneking stage, geographic region, and sample size. No heterogeneity existed between these subgroups (P > .05). Begg's funnel plot and Egger's test (OS: P = .04; EFS: P = .34) showed that possible publication bias might exist in OS studies. Sensitivity analysis suggested the pooled HR was robust.
Conclusions:
This meta-analysis demonstrates that elevated serum LDH level is apparently associated with lower EFS rate and serum LDH could be a prognostic biomarker for osteosarcoma patients.
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