Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42205694›Full record

ArticleiScience2026

Impact of single freeze-thaw cycles on human serum proteins: Implications for mass spectrometry biomarker validation.

Thorben Sauer, Martina Oberländer, Regina Maushagen, Helene Radloff, Ruediger Braun, Kim Honselmann, Ulrich Wellner, Jens Habermann, Claudia Benecke, Tobias Keck and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Thorben SauerSection for Translational Surgical Oncology and Biobanking, Department of Surgery, University of Lübeck and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
Martina OberländerInterdisciplinary Center for Biobanking-Lübeck (ICB-L), University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
Regina MaushagenInterdisciplinary Center for Biobanking-Lübeck (ICB-L), University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
Helene RadloffSection for Translational Surgical Oncology and Biobanking, Department of Surgery, University of Lübeck and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
Ruediger BraunDepartment of Surgery, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
Kim HonselmannDepartment of Surgery, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
Ulrich WellnerDepartment of Surgery, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
Jens HabermannSection for Translational Surgical Oncology and Biobanking, Department of Surgery, University of Lübeck and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
Claudia BeneckeDepartment of Surgery, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
Tobias KeckDepartment of Surgery, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
Silke SzymczakInstitute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany.
Timo GemollSection for Translational Surgical Oncology and Biobanking, Department of Surgery, University of Lübeck and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Validation of biomarkers for clinical diagnostics requires high-quality samples and standardized protocols. This study investigated the effect of a single freeze-and-thaw (FT) cycle on the quality of liquid nitrogen-stored clinical serum samples. Using mass spectrometry, serum protein abundance was analyzed in a human test cohort of 99 samples and a validation cohort 109 samples. After preprocessing, 213 proteins were analyzed in the test cohort and 248 in the validation cohort. Thirty proteins changed significantly in their measurability after freeze-thaw in the test cohort, and 11 were confirmed in the validation cohort. Among them, CP and IGHV6-1 showed potential for distinguishing malignant from benign pancreatic disease. No association was found between protein intensity and storage duration. Overall, the findings show that freeze-thaw cycles are an important pre-analytical factor that should be controlled when translating protein biomarkers into clinical practice.

Indexed as

OncologyProteomics

Identifiers

PMID42205694
PMCPMC13206734

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.