LINE-1 cfDNA Methylation as an Emerging Biomarker in Solid Cancers.

Epigenetic dysregulation is a hallmark of many human malignancies, with DNA methylation being a primary mechanism influencing gene expression and maintaining genomic stability. Genome-wide hypomethylation, characteristic of many cancers, is partly attributed to the demethylation of repetitive elements, including LINE-1, a prevalent non-LTR retrotransposon. The methylation status of LINE-1 is closely associated with overall genomic methylation levels in tumors.

Recurrent depression predicts high leptin concentrations in patients with coronary artery disease over an 18-months follow-up period: Findings from the prospective multicenter randomized controlled SPIRR-CAD Trial.

Background: Leptin, an adipokine suspected to play a role in coronary artery disease (CAD), may also be associated with deteriorated mental health. We investigated the prospective impact of recurrent depressed mood (RDM) on heightened plasma leptin levels in CAD patients.

Methods: Derived from the randomized SPIRR-CAD trial, plasma leptin were measured by the Human Leptin DuoSet ELISA at baseline in 539 patients (including 115 (21.

External quality assessment-based tumor marker harmonization simulation; insights in achievable harmonization for CA 15-3 and CEA.

Objectives: CA 15-3 and CEA are tumor markers used in routine clinical care for breast cancer and colorectal cancer, among others. Current measurement procedures (MP) for these tumor markers are considered to be insufficiently harmonized. This study investigated the achievable harmonization for CA 15-3 and CEA by using an simulation of external quality assessment (EQA) data from multiple EQA programs using patient-pool based samples.

A Novel Tool for the Rapid and Transparent Verification of Reference Intervals in Clinical Laboratories.

: We present a software package called reflimR (Version 1.0.6), which enables rapid and transparent verification of reference intervals from routine laboratory measurements.

Longitudinal evaluation of external quality assessment results for CA 15-3, CA 19-9, and CA 125.

Background: Tumor markers are established laboratory tools that help to diagnose, estimate prognosis, and monitor the course of cancer. For meaningful decision-making in patient care, it is essential that methods and analytical platforms demonstrate high sensitivity, specificity, precision, and comparability. Regular participation at external quality assessment (EQA) schemes is mandatory for laboratories.