Simple Plex Assays for Cancer Research

Categories

• Angiogenesis 
• Apoptosis & Senescence 
• CRS Monitoring 
• Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) & Metastasis 
• Immune Checkpoints (ICI) & Immunotherapy Response 
• Microbiome-Immune Interaction 
• Tumor Microenvironment (TME) 
• Tumor-associated Markers 
• Assay Validation

For additional related categories, see Simple Plex Assays for Immunology and Inflammation

Angiogenesis and Tumor Progression

Angiogenesis supports tumor growth by supplying oxygen and nutrients while facilitating invasion and metastatic spread. Profiling pro- and anti-angiogenic factors, vascular signaling proteins, and extracellular matrix-remodeling markers can help characterize tumor progression, investigate tumor–vascular interactions, and evaluate the effects of pathway-targeted therapies in oncology research models

Relevant Simple Plex Assays 

Apoptosis & Senescence

Characterizing tumor-cell death, cellular senescence, and immune-mediated cytotoxicity provides insight into tumor biology and the functional activity of T cells, NK cells, and other immune effectors. Profiling biomarkers associated with apoptosis, senescence, cytolytic activity, and immune-cell activation can help elucidate mechanisms of action and investigate treatment response in oncology research models.

Relevant Simple Plex Assays 

CRS Monitoring for CAR-T, TCR, NK and other Cell Therapies

With low sample-volume requirements, high sensitivity, and results in 90 minutes or less, the Ella system enables rapid measurement of cytokine associated with immune activation, supporting research into Cytokine Response Syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated HLH-like syndrome (IEC-HS) following cell therapy treatments.

Relevant Simple Plex Assays 

Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) & Metastasis

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition and metastasis encompass the signals and effectors that enable tumor cells to lose adhesion, invade, and spread to distant sites. Simple Plex assays cover several key facets of this process: loss of epithelial adhesion and mesenchymal remodeling, EMT-inducing signals from the microenvironment, matrix degradation and invasion machinery and mediators of migration and metastatic colonization.

Relevant Simple Plex Assays: 

Immune Checkpoints and Immunotherapy Response

Profiling immune checkpoint proteins and other immune-regulatory markers can help characterize tumor–immune interactions, T-cell activation and exhaustion, and mechanisms associated with immunotherapy response or resistance. Longitudinal monitoring of systemic and local immune responses can further reveal changes in immune activity and inflammatory signaling, supporting the identification of biomarkers and pathways associated with therapeutic response and immune evasion.

Relevant Simple Plex Assays: 

Microbiome-Immune Interaction

The gut microbiota is increasingly recognized as an important modulator of antitumor immunity and immunotherapy response through its effects on systemic immunity and the tumor microenvironment. Beneficial commensals can promote antitumor cytokines and T-cell recruiting chemokines, shifting tumors towards an immunologically “hot” phenotype, immunotherapy-responsive target. Conversely, dysbiosis and barrier disruption can activate suppressive pathways, regulatory immune cells, and myeloid-mediated resistance to immune checkpoint blockade.

Relevant Simple Plex Assays: 

Tumor Microenvironment (TME)

The tumor microenvironment is shaped by cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and immune-cell signaling molecules that regulate inflammation, immune activation, immunosuppression, angiogenesis, and treatment response. Profiling these soluble mediators across biological samples and experimental models can help characterize tumor–immune interactions, identify resistance mechanisms, and evaluate treatment-associated changes.

Relevant Simple Plex Assays: 

Tumor-associated Biomarkers

Soluble tumor-associated proteins serve as dynamic indicators of tumor biology, therapeutic response, and immune engagement. Quantifying these circulating antigens accelerates translational biomarker discovery and validation, directly mapping systemic proteomic signatures to tumor burden, immune evasion pathways, and therapeutic efficacy.

Relevant Simple Plex Assays: 

Assay Validation for Cancer Research

Ella system’s automated microfluidic platform serves as a reliable engine for orthogonal protein validation in oncology research. By providing precise quantification of biomarkers identified through multiplex discovery screening, spatial biology, and/or omics studies, Ella’s automated assays bridge the gap between initial target identification and analytical qualification. The system generates highly reproducible, quantitative data suitable for training predictive machine-learning models.

Relevant Simple Plex Assays: 

Selected Publications by Cancer Type

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