The mission of the Laboratory Core of this Program Project is to provide consistent and reliable """"""""state-ofthe- art"""""""" assays to measure cytokines in serum and plasma samples from of patients with multiple myeloma being investigated in hypothesis-driven clinical trials to assess the relationship between symptoms, disease (cancer), and therapy for cancer. Having the cytokine assays coordinated and performed at one location, by a single laboratory and under the direction of an experienced director, will eliminate variability and inconsistency in assay findings and provide uniform results that can be compared across projects. The service-related Specific Aims of the Laboratory Core are to: 1. Process, archive, and store all specimens from the study subjects of all four projects; 2. Measure serum/plasma cytokine levels by using Luminex Multiplex Cytometric Bead Array (Multiplex) assays or enzyme immunosorbent assays; 3. Establish normal ranges for each cytokine to be studied by assaying samples from healthy donors; 4. Provide scientific and technical guidance to all project leaders, statisticians, and nursing and laboratory personnel to ensure the clinical and biological relevance of the work and appropriate interpretation of the data. In multiple myeloma, NF-KB is constitutively active and the elevated plasma level of IL-6 and angiogenic factors, VEGF and bFGF are correlated with high tumor burden of patients. The Laboratory Core also proposes a hj'pothesis-driven specific aim in addition to its service mission. We will evaluate angiogenic cytokines in relation to the clinical response of patients with multiple myeloma receiving induction therapy. We hypothesize that patients responding to induction therapy with thalidomide or bortezomib (detailed in Projects i and 4) would have a reduction in the level of angiogenic cytokines bFGF and VEGF.
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