Impact of Elevated LDH on Cystatin C-Based Glomerular Filtration Rate Estimates in Patients with Cancer

Background: The determination of renal function is crucial for the clinical management of patients with cancer. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) serves as a key parameter, estimated by creatinine clearance determination in 24-h collected urine (CrCl) as well as equation-based approaches (eGFR) relying on serum creatinine (eGFR CKD EPIcrea) or serum cystatin C (eGFR cystatin C). Serum creatinine and serum cystatin C levels differentially depend on muscle and tumor mass, respectively. Although muscle and tumor mass may thus represent confounding factors, comparative studies for eGFR estimate approaches in cancer patients are lacking. Methods: The present study retrospectively analyzed GFR estimates based on equations of creatinine (eGFRcr), cystatin C (eGFRcys) and combined creatinine-cystatin C levels (eGFRcr-cys) in a subset of patients. The associations of LDH with cystatin C or LDH with eGFRcr, eGFRcys and GFRcr-cys were explored. Results: The laboratory values of 123 consecutive patients were included. The median age was 59 (24−87) and 47.2% were female. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean of CKD EPIcrea (85.17 ± 21.63 mL/min/1.73 m2), CKD EPIcys (61.16 ± 26.03 mL/min/1.73 m2) and CKD EPIcrea-cys (70.42 ± 23.89 mL/min/1.73 m2) (p < 0.0001). Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation of elevated plasma LDH >1.5 UNV and cystatin C values (r = 0.270, p < 0.01, n = 123). LDH values >1.5 UNV were associated with significantly lower CKD EPIcys (r = 0.184, p < 0.01) or CKD EPIcrea-cys (r = 0.226, p < 0.05) estimates compared to CKD EPIcrea. Conclusions: The inclusion of cystatin C as a biomarker led to a lower eGFR estimates compared to creatinine alone or in a combination of both cystatin C and creatinine. The level of cystatin C correlated with the level of LDH, suggesting that the use of cystatin C-based calculations of GFR in cancer patients with elevated LDH should be used with caution.