Background: This study sought to evaluate the effects of pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy lactate dehydrogenase (pre-NAC LDH) levels, preoperative LDH levels, and changes in LDH levels on the pathological response and outcomes of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) patients treated with liver resection after NAC.
Methods: This study included 152 colorectal CRLM patients, who underwent NAC followed by liver resection. Patients were excluded if they were diagnosed with other malignancies or lacked follow-up and clinical data. Demographic and clinicopathological data were collected from hospital records. Pathological response and postoperative complications were measured according to the tumor regression grade (TRG) and Clavien-Dindo classification system, respectively. The optimal cutoff values were determined by the receiver operating characteristic curve and the X-tile analysis. Changes in LDH levels were graded as 0, 1, and 2. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the independent predictors of pathological response and postoperative major complications. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify the independent risk factors of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).
Results: The multivariate analysis indicated that a grade 2 LDH level change was a risk factor of an unfavorable histological response [odds ratio (OR) 0.249, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.066-0.942; P=0.041] and major postoperative complications (OR 2.523, 95% CI: 1.179-10.530; P=0.024), which were independent of other clinical covariates. A pre-NAC LDH level ≥145 IU/L [hazards ratio (HR) 0.584, 95% CI: 0.359-0.950; P=0.030], a grade 1 LDH level change (HR 0.584, 95% CI: 0.359-0.950; P=0.030) and a grade 2 LDH level change (HR 0.447, 95% CI: 0.231-0.864; P=0.017) were independent prognostic predictors of PFS. A preoperative a LDH level ≥231 IU/L (HR 0.405, 95% CI: 0.192-0.852; P=0.017) and a grade 2 LDH level change (HR 0.362, 95% CI: 0.157-0.834; P=0.017) were independent prognostic factors of OS, which were independent of other clinical covariates.
Conclusions: LDH levels and changes in LDH levels are potentially useful biomarkers for predicting the pathological response and prognosis of CRLM patients receiving NAC followed by liver resection.
Keywords: Colorectal liver metastases (CRLM); lactate dehydrogenase (LDH); pathological response; prognosis.