The prognostic role of preoperative serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in patients with resected advanced melanoma.

e21054Background: Up to 50% of patients undergoing resection for advanced melanoma experience recurrence. Identification of preoperative prognostic biomarkers is needed to ascertain risk of relapse and guide postoperative management. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) represents a strong prognostic factor in unresectable metastatic (stage IV) melanoma, but its relevance in patients with resected stage III or IV disease remains unknown. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from patients with stage III and IV melanoma who had undergone complete resection of disease and received follow-up treatment at Mayo Clinic, Rochester between January 1, 2000 and January 31, 2012. Clinical data were collected from electronic records. Survival data were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Associations of preoperative LDH with time to relapse and death were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models and summarized with hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results: A total of 154 subjects with res...