LDH markers

[Goingcuckoo]

My husband was on immunotherapy for lung cancer which had spread to lymph nodes and pleura. The immunotherapy was stopped as a CT scan showed spread to the liver. He has now been put on Carboplatin and Pemetrexed. After his last (2nd) dose of that his bloods showed an increase in LDH. Stupidly I Googled what this meant and from what I can understand it means his tumour load has increased. I'm scared that this is an indication that the chemo isn't working. Can anyone shed any light on this please?

His LDH was 533.

Thank you

[ThePurplePlace]

That may be a possibility, however LDH is not known as a very reliable marker in Lung Cancer because it can be effected by other things such as inflammation. Many Oncologist don't even check LDH for this reason.

My Oncologist has always run this for me and I've also been worried if it's been elevated. Fortunately in my case it was never progression and everything turned out fine. If it's been run all along go back and see if it's been high before, you may find it was even while he was stable. Unfortunately you really can't know simply from that one test. You'll learn more once he has a follow up CT scan. Think positive.

Best wishes,

Lisa

[ElmerFudd314]

All I can tell you is the pemetrexed and carboplatin were the first chemo drugs I was on for my nsclc. This. was in January 2018. The side effects were tolerable but eating was a major problem, also constipation. Docusate S took care of the constipation. I think the drug for nausea caused the constipation and I never took it again. After a few months on this chemo every 3 weeks I actually had some good PET scans, Then they put me on maintenance chemo with just the pemetrexed every 3 weeks. Very few ill effects and after about a year I had a slightly poor PET scan. Then was switched to immunotherapy with Opdivo. No side effects but no wonderful results either. I have shown cancerous lesions in the spine and a rib. Just had radiation for the new lesions and due for my next Opdivo July 11. I am still trying to beat this thing and the small original lung tumor is stable. If he wants some eating suggestions get back to me or see if you can find my old posts where I go into foods I was able to eat. Good luck to you all !!

[PegD]

While tumor markers can help warn if there is progression, they are not solely reliable. In my case we watch for tumor markers with a steady increase over 9-12 weeks before we get worried. Wishing you and your husband all the best. ~Peg

[JanetteR57]

Part of the problem of being curious patients/carers is that a little knowledge can be dangerous as we can read something on the internet, add it to something from a paper or something somebody has told us and create a catastrophe in our minds. I'd always suggest talking to your clinical team including specialist nurse if you have questions especially as many tumour characteristics in lung cancer are different which is why so many individual treatment plans exist. hopefully they can answer your specific questions looking at all your other results rather than picking one or two out of context, and hopefully reassure you. good luck.

[anrean]

My liver oncologist was very firm in regard to doing my own research - he said to not rely on anything that was more than 6 months old, and even then to be aware that there is a lot of garbage on the internet, so make certain to use a good resource. The best thing you can do is talk to your oncologist and perhaps get a 2nd opinion. Praying all works out in your best interest