Pleural fluid findings as prognostic factors for malignant pleural mesothelioma
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008.
Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis. 2008;22(5):334-6. [Link]
Flores RM, Routledge T, Seshan VE, Dycoco J, Zakowski M, Hirth Y, Rusch VW.
Thoracic Service, Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10021, USA. floresr@mskcc.org
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of pleural fluid glucose, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), albumin, total protein, and total leukocyte levels in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. We retrospectively analyzed 71 consecutive patients (33 men and 38 women) who were referred to the department of chest diseases in a university hospital. Pleural fluid glucose levels, the ratio of pleural fluid to serum LDH>1.0, and total leukocyte count were significant predictors for the survival in univariate analysis. However, none of these variables emerged as statistically significant from the multivariate Cox model. In conclusion, our results showed that there is an inverse correlation between the intensity of inflammation and survival.
Keywords: pleural neoplasms, prognosis, survival analysis, malignant pleural effusion
Glossary
- prognosis
- (prog-no-sis) a prediction of the course of disease; the outlook for the cure of the patient. For example, women with breast cancer that was detected early and who received prompt treatment have a good prognosis.
- cancer
- malignancy; a group of diseases typified by abnormal, generally out-of-control, cell growth.
- mesothelioma
- a tumor derived from mesothelial tissue, such as the peritoneum (lining the abdomen) or pleura (lining the lungs). More on mesothelioma.
- pleural effusion
- an abnormal accumulation of fluid, usually caused by trauma or disease, in the pleural space.
