PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Chaturvedi, Anil K. AU - Kemp, Troy J. AU - Pfeiffer, Ruth M. AU - Biancotto, Angelique AU - Williams, Marcus AU - Munuo, Stella AU - Purdue, Mark P. AU - Hsing, Ann W. AU - Pinto, Ligia AU - McCoy, J. Philip AU - Hildesheim, Allan TI - Evaluation of Multiplexed Cytokine and Inflammation Marker Measurements: a Methodologic Study AID - 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-11-0221 DP - 2011 Sep 01 TA - Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention PG - 1902--1911 VI - 20 IP - 9 4099 - http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/20/9/1902.short 4100 - http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/20/9/1902.full SO - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev2011 Sep 01; 20 AB - Background: Chronic inflammation is etiologically related to several cancers. We evaluated the performance [ability to detect concentrations above the assay's lower limit of detection, coefficients of variation (CV), and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC)] of 116 inflammation, immune, and metabolic markers across two Luminex bead–based commercial kits and three specimen types. Methods: From 100 cancer-free participants in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Trial, serum, heparin plasma, and EDTA plasma samples were utilized. We measured levels of 67 and 97 markers using Bio-Rad and Millipore kits, respectively. Reproducibility was assessed using 40 blinded duplicates (20 within-batches and 20 across-batches) for each specimen type. Results: A majority of markers were detectable in more than 25% of individuals on all specimen types/kits. Of the 67 Bio-Rad markers, 51, 52, and 47 markers in serum, heparin plasma, and EDTA plasma, respectively, had across-batch CVs of less than 20%. Likewise, of 97 Millipore markers, 75, 69, and 78 markers in serum, heparin plasma, and EDTA plasma, respectively, had across-batch CVs of less than 20%. When results were combined across specimen types, 45 Bio-Rad and 71 Millipore markers had acceptable performance (>25% detectability on all three specimen types and across-batch CVs <20% on at least two of three specimen types). Median concentrations and ICCs differed to a small extent across specimen types and to a large extent between Bio-Rad and Millipore. Conclusions: Inflammation and immune markers can be measured reliably in serum and plasma samples using multiplexed Luminex-based methods. Impact: Multiplexed assays can be utilized for epidemiologic investigations into the role of inflammation in cancer etiology. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(9); 1902–11. ©2011 AACR.