Comparison of 7 Published LC-MS/MS Methods for the Simultaneous Measurement of Testosterone, Androstenedione, and Dehydroepiandrosterone in Serum
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Recently, LC-MS/MS was stated to be the method of choice to measure sex steroids. Because information on the mutual agreement of LC-MS/MS methods is scarce, we compared 7 published LC-MS/MS methods for the simultaneous measurement of testosterone, androstenedione, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). METHODS: We used 7 published LC-MS/MS methods to analyze in duplicate 55 random samples from both men and women. We performed Passing–Bablok regression analysis and calculated Pearson correlation coefficients to assess the agreement of the methods investigated with the median concentration measured by all methods, and we calculated the intraassay CV of each method derived from duplicate results and the CVs between the methods. RESULTS: Median concentrations of testosterone were 0.22–1.36 nmol/L for women and 8.27–27.98 nmol/L for men. Androstenedione and DHEA concentrations were 0.05–5.53 and 0.58–18.04 nmol/L, respectively. Intraassay CVs were 2.9%–10%, 1.2%–8.8%, 2.7%–13%, and 4.3%–16% for testosterone in women, testosterone in men, androstenedione, and DHEA. Slopes of the regression lines calculated by Passing–Bablok regression analysis were 0.92–1.08, 0.92–1.08, 0.90–1.13, and 0.91–1.41 for all testosterone values, testosterone in women, androstenedione, and DHEA. Intermethod CVs were 14%, 8%, 30%, and 22% for testosterone in women, testosterone in men, androstenedione, and DHEA. CONCLUSIONS: In general, the LC-MS/MS methods investigated show reasonable agreement. However, some of the assays show differences in standardization, and others show high variation.
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Serum 25(OH)D and total testosterone were measured by isotope-dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and used for statistical analyses.
“Serum levels of 25(OH)D and TT were additionally measured by well-adjusted isotope-dilution liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (ID-LC–MS/MS) methods in 2018 [18, 19]. 25(OH)D and TT measured by ID-LC–MS/MS were used for statistical analyses.”
From Effects of vitamin D supplementation on androgens in men with low testosterone levels: a randomized controlled trial (2019) · cites this paper as [19]
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- Authors
- Büttler, R. M., Martens, F., Fanelli, F., Pham, H. T., Kushnir, M. M., Janssen, M. J. W., Owen, L., Taylor, A. E., Soeborg, T., Blankenstein, M. A., & Heijboer, A. C.
- Affiliations
- Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedliero-Universitaria di Bologna Policlinico di Sant'Orsola (IT)
- Biocrates Life Sciences (Austria) (AT)
- University of Utah (US)
- VieCuri Medisch Centrum (NL)
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University Hospital of South Manchester, Manchester, UK
- University of Birmingham (GB)
- Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Corresponding author
- Heijboer, Annemieke C
- ORCID
- Venue
- Clinical Chemistry
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2015-12-01
- Volume
- 61
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1475-1483
- ISSN
- 0009-9147 (ISSN-L)
- 1530-8561
- OpenAlex
- W2145347643
- Cited by
- 76
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 8.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
- Locations
- Clinical Chemistry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna) (submittedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Hormonal and reproductive studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Clinical Laboratory Practices and Quality Control
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Adrenal Hormones and Disorders
- Keywords
- testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, sex steroids, measurement agreement, assay standardization
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Androstenedione, Calibration, Chromatography, Liquid, Dehydroepiandrosterone, Female, Humans, Male, Regression Analysis, Sex Factors, Testosterone, Reproducibility of Results, Observer Variation, Tandem Mass Spectrometry
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