An Observational Study of Significance of LDH as a Tumor Marker in Breast Cancer at a Tertiary Care Centre

Introduction: Breast cancer is a leading malignancy among women, with complex and not fully understood etiology. Breast cancer involves altered tumor metabolism, including elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) due to increased glycolysis. This study evaluates serum LDH levels in newly diagnosed patients and correlates them with TNM staging before and after treatment to assess its tumor marker potential. Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 80 female patients with histopathologically confirmed breast carcinoma . Serum LDH levels were measured preoperatively and postoperatively , and correlated with tumor size, nodal status, stage, metastasis, and outcomes. Result: At presentation, mean preoperative LDH values were higher across all TNM stages and declined postoperatively. In stage II patients, the mean preoperative LDH was 257.36±87.76 U/L compared to 230.42±53.97 U/L postoperatively (not statistically significant), but significantly reduced on follow-up to 201.21±72.0 U/L (p=0.008). In stage III, the mean LDH was 298.04±133.26 U/L preoperatively and decreased significantly to 232.42±66.95 U/L postoperatively (p=0.002), while follow-up values increased to 319.45±158.53 U/L, though not statistically significant compared to preoperative levels. In stage IV, mean LDH was significantly higher preoperatively (431.47±111.41 U/L) than postoperatively (320.76±96.39 U/L, p=0.004), with a further rise at follow-up (545.49±318.49 U/L), which was not statistically significant. Conculsion: Serum LDH levels correlate with tumor burden and disease progression, making it a valuable, low-cost adjunct for prognostication and treatment monitoring in breast cancer, especially in resource-limited settings.