Skip to main content
Home

Dedicated to discovery

  • Company
    • About us
    • Careers
    • Events
  • Support
    • Laboratory Planning
  • Contact
  • DE
  • ES
  • FR
  • IT
  • PT
  • EN-US
Home
  • Products
    • PURELAB®
      • PURELAB® Dispenser
      • PURELAB® Flex
      • PURELAB® Quest
      • PURELAB® Pharma Compliance
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1 Complete
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2
      • PURELAB® Chorus 3
      • Purelab Chorus 2+ (RO/DI/UV) / (RO/EDI/UV)
    • CENTRA®
      • CENTRA® R60/120
      • CENTRA® R200
      • CENTRA® RDS
    • MEDICA®
      • MEDICA® 150
      • MEDICA® 7/15
      • MEDICA® BIOX 2024
      • MEDICA® Pro-R & Pro-RE
      • MEDICA® R200
      • MEDICA® EDI 15/30
      • MEDICA® Pro-LPS
      • MEDICA® Pro EDI 60/120
      • MEDICA® BIOX
      • Hubgrade
    • BIOPURE®
      • BIOPURE® 300/600
    • PURENERGY® 30
    • ELGA Full Product Range
  • Applications
    • Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
    • Cell and Tissue Culture
    • Clinical Biochemistry
    • Electrochemistry
    • Gas Chromatography
    • General lab water requirement
    • High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
    • Immunochemistry
    • Liquid Chromatography
      • High Performance Liquid Chromatography
    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Microbiology
    • Molecular Biology
    • Spectrophotometry
  • Technologies
    • Activated Carbon
    • Electrodeionization (EDI)
    • Filtration
    • Ion Exchange
    • PureSure
    • Reverse Osmosis
    • Ultraviolet
  • Impurities In Water
    • Dissolved Gases
    • Inorganic Compounds
    • Microorganisms & Bacteria
    • Organic Compounds
    • Particulates
  • Knowledge
    • BROSCHÜREN
    • Blog
    • Case Studies
    • Ultrapure water
    • Guides and White Papers
  • Where to buy
  • Contact us
Home
  • Contact us
  • Products
    • PURELAB®
      • PURELAB® Dispenser
      • PURELAB® Flex
      • PURELAB® Quest
      • PURELAB® Pharma Compliance
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1 Complete
      • PURELAB® Chorus 1
      • PURELAB® Chorus 2
      • PURELAB® Chorus 3
      • Purelab Chorus 2+ (RO/DI/UV) / (RO/EDI/UV)
    • CENTRA®
      • CENTRA® R60/120
      • CENTRA® R200
      • CENTRA® RDS
    • MEDICA®
      • MEDICA® 150
      • MEDICA® 7/15
      • MEDICA® BIOX 2024
      • MEDICA® Pro-R & Pro-RE
      • MEDICA® R200
      • MEDICA® EDI 15/30
      • MEDICA® Pro-LPS
      • MEDICA® Pro EDI 60/120
      • MEDICA® BIOX
      • Hubgrade
    • BIOPURE®
      • BIOPURE® 300/600
    • PURENERGY® 30
    • ELGA Full Product Range
  • Applications
    • Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
    • Cell and Tissue Culture
    • Clinical Biochemistry
    • Electrochemistry
    • Gas Chromatography
    • General lab water requirement
    • High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
    • Immunochemistry
    • Liquid Chromatography
      • High Performance Liquid Chromatography
    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Microbiology
    • Molecular Biology
    • Spectrophotometry
  • Technologies
    • Activated Carbon
    • Electrodeionization (EDI)
    • Filtration
    • Ion Exchange
    • PureSure
    • Reverse Osmosis
    • Ultraviolet
  • Impurities In Water
    • Dissolved Gases
    • Inorganic Compounds
    • Microorganisms & Bacteria
    • Organic Compounds
    • Particulates
  • Knowledge
    • BROSCHÜREN
    • Blog
    • Case Studies
    • Ultrapure water
    • Guides and White Papers
  • Where to buy
  • Contact us
  • Company
    • About us
    • Careers
    • Events
  • Support
    • Laboratory Planning
  • Contact
  • DE
  • ES
  • FR
  • IT
  • PT
  • EN-US
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Global Legal Compliance
  • Patents
  • Trademarks
  • Impressum

 

Let's talk about lab water

  • Categories
    • Analytical Chemistry
    • Biotechnology
    • Clinical & Pharma
    • Cool Science
    • Environment & Sustainability
    • Future Science
    • Going Green
    • Life in The Lab
    • Life Science Results
    • Pharma
    • PURELAB Product Design
    • Science of the Future
    • The Solution Behind Great Science
    • Water In The Lab
    • Water Purity
  • Authors
    • ELGA Editorial Team_cloned
    • fbiederbick
    • ELGA Editorial Team
    • rswinka
    • Dr Bethany Campbell
    • Natasha Zarach
    • Dr Paul Whitehead
    • Dr Alison Halliday
    • John Walker
Analytical Chemistry
Water In The Lab

Developing a New Diagnostic Test for an Aggressive Childhood Cancer

30 Apr 2019
- by Dr Alison Halliday

Aggressive Childhood Cancer

An Early Diagnosis can Improve the Chance of Survival for a Child with Neuroblastoma

A new study validates a more simple and rapid liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method suitable for clinical application. Neuroblastoma is an aggressive nervous system cancer that affects around 100 children in the UK – mostly under five years old. Representing around five percent of all children’s cancers, the disease disproportionately accounts for at least 15 percent of deaths. A timely and effective diagnosis is key – as the sooner a child is diagnosed, the better their chances of survival. 

A clinical diagnosis of neuroblastoma is usually through an abdominal ultrasound – but a urine test could offer a simpler, faster approach. As the disease often starts in the adrenal glands, this can lead to increases in the level of catecholamines in the body. So detecting elevated levels of the metabolic by-products of these hormones – homovanillic acid (HVA) and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) – can help support a clinical diagnosis of the disease. But the current analytical methods to detect and measure these chemicals in urine samples have limitations – and so robust new techniques are needed.

A Robust New Clinical Diagnostic Test

A team of scientists at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China work to develop and validate a simple, rapid and easy LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous measurement of VMA and HA in urine.1 Using ultrapure water from an ELGA laboratory water purification system to create stock solutions of VMA and HVA and for the internal standards, the researchers showed that the new technique is highly sensitive, with a lower limit of quantification and the limit of detection of 0.50 and 0.25 µmmol/L for both metabolites.

The team then evaluated its diagnostic performance by measuring the levels of VMA and HA in a variety of urine samples collected from children undergoing clinical investigations from July 2015 to May 2018 in Tongji Hospital. Of these, 19 children were confirmed with a diagnosis of neuroblastoma. The urine samples were collected in two different ways – either over a 24-hour period or randomly – with the latter much easier to collect, particularly in children. 

Factoring in a Child’s Age

The researchers first established the normal ranges for the levels of VMA and HA for children across different age groups – for both 24-hour urine and random samples. They found the levels of these biomarkers changed according to a child’s age and differed across sample types, clearly demonstrating the importance of incorporating age-adjusted children’s reference intervals for correct interpretation of test results.

The team went onto achieve 85 percent diagnostic sensitivity and 95.7 percent specificity by measuring the levels of both biomarkers in 24-hour urine samples, incorporating age-adjusted reference intervals. However, they only had a small number of random urine samples with elevated levels of catecholamines – and so larger sets will be needed to evaluate performance when the test is applied to samples collected in this simpler way. In this study, researchers thoroughly develop and validate a simple, rapid and robust LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous measurement of VMA and HA in urine – laying the foundations for its routine application in clinical laboratories to help diagnose neuroblastoma. 

Why Choose ELGA LabWater?

ELGA has been a trusted name in pure and ultrapure water since 1937. Our history of innovation helps us to research new water purification technologies and techniques. We help you to achieve consistent, accurate results. 

References:

1.    Shen, Y. et al, Analytical validation and clinical application of urinary vanillylmandelic acid and homovanillic acid by LC-MS/MS for diagnosis of neuroblastoma. 2019 Jan 11:e4484. doi: 10.1002/bmc.4484. [Epub ahead of print]

Dr Alison Halliday
After completing an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry & Genetics at Sheffield University, Alison was awarded a PhD in Human Molecular Genetics at the University of Newcastle. She carried out five years as a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UCL, investigating the genes involved in childhood obesity syndrome. Moving into science communications, she spent ten years at Cancer Research UK engaging the public about the charity’s work. She now specialises in writing about research across the life sciences, medicine and health.

 

 


 

Explore more from our blog

18 Mar 2024
PURELAB flex - A simple solution to reducing your lab's carbon footprint
7 Dec 2023
The Power of Water as a Solvent in Green Chemistry
16 Nov 2023
Learning the Secrets of a Unique Ecosystem in the Heart of Siberia
9 Nov 2023
Organic Dry Pea: The Sustainable Protein Powerhouse of the Future
27 Okt. 2023
Kontamination von Lebensmitteln – Der ständige Bedarf an sicheren Analysen
27 Okt. 2023
Von der Wildpflanze zum funktionellen Lebensmittel: Die süße Vogelbeere als Superfood
27 Okt. 2023
Wechselwirkung von Wasser und Futtermittel mit oralen Antibiotika in der konventionellen Schweinehaltung
27 Okt. 2023
Sind „Bio“-Lebensmittel wirklich besser für die Gesundheit?

Blog Categories

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Biotechnology
  • Clinical & Pharma
  • Cool Science
  • Environment & Sustainability
  • Future Science
  • Going Green
  • Life in The Lab
  • Life Science Results
  • Pharma
  • PURELAB Product Design
  • Science of the Future
  • The Solution Behind Great Science
  • Water In The Lab
  • Water Purity

CTA Blog

  • Sales Enquiry
  • Get a Quote
  • Technical Support
  • Find an Approved Partner

Sales Enquiry

At ELGA LabWater, we have exciting offers and news about our products and services that we hope you’d like to hear about. We will use your information to predict what you might be interested in. We will treat your data with respect and you can find the details in our Privacy Policy.

ELGA LabWater works with a network of Approved Partners. In order to answer your questions or enquiries, we may pass your contact details to an Approved Partner, who may contact you directly. 

I'd like to receive updates from ELGA LabWater & ELGA Approved Partners based on my details.

Get a Quote

At ELGA LabWater, we have exciting offers and news about our products and services that we hope you’d like to hear about. We will use your information to predict what you might be interested in. We will treat your data with respect and you can find the details in our Privacy Policy.

ELGA LabWater works with a network of Approved Partners. In order to answer your questions or enquiries, we may pass your contact details to an Approved Partner, who may contact you directly. 

I'd like to receive updates from ELGA LabWater & ELGA Approved Partners based on my details.

Technical Support

At ELGA LabWater, we have exciting offers and news about our products and services that we hope you’d like to hear about. We will use your information to predict what you might be interested in. We will treat your data with respect and you can find the details in our Privacy Policy.

ELGA LabWater works with a network of Approved Partners. In order to answer your questions or enquiries, we may pass your contact details to an Approved Partner, who may contact you directly. 

Call us

Can't find what you are looking for?

Support Number
+44 (0)20 3567 7300
United Kingdom Sales
+44 (0)1628 879 704
United States of America Sales
+1 877-315-3542
France Sales
+33 1 40 83 65 00
China Sales
+86 400-616-8882

 

ELGA LabWater UK Headquarters

Lane End Business Park
Lane End, High Wycombe
HP14 3BY
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0) 203 567 7300
F: +44 (0) 203 567 7205

Case Studies

  • Abbott Diagnostics
  • DASA Medical Diagnostics
  • NeoDIN Medical Institute
  • North Staffordshire NHS Trust
  • Olsberg Vocational College

Resources

  • Learn About Ultrapure Water
  • Guides and White Papers
  • Purification Technologies
  • Applications
  • Impurities In Water
  • Latest Blog
  • Water Purity - Different Types of Pure Water
  • What is Clinical Laboratory Reagent Water (CLSI)?
  • What is Total Organic Carbon (TOC)?

© VWS (UK) Ltd. trading as ELGA LabWater. 2025 - All rights reserved.
ELGA is the global laboratory water brand name of Veolia.

  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Global Legal Compliance
  • Patents
  • Trademarks
  • Impressum
  • Language
    • Deutsch
    • English
    • Español
    • Français
    • Italiano
    • Português
    • 日本語
    • 中文
  • Other Veolia Sites
    • Veolia
    • Veolia Foundation
    • Veolia Water Technologies
Elga Veolia
TOP

© 2017 ELGA Veolia