Estimation of serum lactate dehydrogenase level in patients with oral premalignant lesions/conditions and oral squamous cell carcinoma: A clinicopathological study

Background: Tumor markers are the substances, which quantitatively change in serum, during tumor development. Tumor markers have now been introduced in the diagnosis of malignant lesions. One such tumor marker is serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). In the present study, an attempt was made to correlate the level of serum LDH with premalignant lesions/conditions and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Materials and Methods: This study was carried out to evaluate the role of serum LDH as a biochemical parameter in oral premalignant lesions/conditions and OSCC. Estimation of LDH level in serum was done by an autoanalyzer for spectrometry, and the Student's t-test was applied. Results: Increased levels of LDH were observed in serum; of patients with oral premalignant lesions and conditions, and OSCC. Increased serum LDH level had a positive correlation with the histologic grading of OSCC. Conclusion: Serum LDH level can serve as a biochemical tool in assessing the malignant potential of premalignant lesions. Estimation of serum LDH may be used to screen the cases of oral malignancy as an adjunct to diagnosis.