. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Jan 6.

Published in final edited form as: Proteomics Clin Appl. 2009 Jan 1;3(9):1023–1028. doi: 10.1002/prca.200800244

Table 2.

Confounding factors to be addressed for the clinical application of urinary proteomics.

Major factors	Specific aspects	Comments
Cost of the assay	Equipment	Newer generations of mass spectrometers likely to be more affordable
	Reagents	Mostly relevant to separation (HPLC, CE)
	Skill level of technician(s)	Automation will reduce expense
Turn-around time	Goal varies by acuity of clinical situation	Generally, not less than 24 h
	Processing and handling of sample	Preferably, minimal on-site processing
	Reference laboratory versus on-site laboratory	High-volume reference laboratory may be less expensive
	Throughput of analysis	Cost reduced with higher throughput
Statistical aspects and interpretation	Identification of the appropriate biomarker(s)	Biomarker development and validation for translation into clinical use
Statistical aspects and interpretation	- Sensitivity and specificity of the assay
	- Level of confidence in the result	- Analysis that accounts for repeat testing of multiple variables
		- Cohort size, sufficient to avoid flawed results due to β- type errors
		- Validation in separate cohort
	Interpretation by clinicians not well versed in the technical aspects of assay	The results should be expressed in well defined standardized notations