Prognostic Significance of Thymidine Kinase-1 versus β2-Microglobulin and Lactate Dehydrogenase in Lymphoproliferative Diseases

Background & Aims. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and b2-microglobulin (b2-MG) are usually detected as serological tumor markers (TM) in malignant lymphoproliferative diseases (LPD); however, their use in monitoring of chemotherapy (CT) is limited due to their low sensitivity and specificity. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the prognostic value of baseline levels of thymidine kinase-1 (TK-1) versus b2-MG and LDH in patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL) and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and to assess their clinical significance of changes in these parameters during CT as criteria of its effectiveness. Methods. TK-1, b2-MG and LDH levels were evaluated in 61 NHL patients and 34 HL patients at baseline and after each subsequent CT cycle. The average age of patients enrolled in the study was 42.5 years (range 18–77 years). Of them 45 were men and 50 were women. Marker levels were determined in serum using the following tests: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for TK-1, immunoturbidimetry for b2-MG, and biochemical method for LDH. Discriminatory levels specified by test-system manufacturers were used in calculations: 50 DU/l for TK-1, 800–2400 mg/l for b2-MG, and 225–450 U/l for LDH. Results. The study demonstrated that lower baseline levels of all three TM were associated with higher probability of complete or partial remission, and the statistical difference was higher. Baseline levels of TK-1