Scientific Regulatory Policy Committee Points to Consider*: Nuisance Factors, Block Effects, and Batch Effects in Nonclinical Safety Assessment Studies

Detection of test article-related effects and the determination of the adversity of those changes are the primary goals of nonclinical safety assessment studies for drugs and chemicals in development. During these studies, variables that are not of primary interest to investigators may change and influence data interpretation. These variables, often referred to as "nuisance factors," may influence other groups of data and result in "block or batch effects" that complicate data interpretation. Definitions of the terms "nuisance factors," "block effects," and "batch effects," as they apply to nonclinical safety assessment studies, are reviewed. Multiple case examples of block and batch effects in safety assessment studies are provided, and the challenges these bring to pathology data interpretation are discussed. Methods to mitigate the occurrence of block and batch effects in safety assessment studies, including statistical blocking and utilization of study designs that minimize potential confounding variables, incorporation of adequate randomization, and use of an appropriate number of animals or repeated measurement of specific parameters for increased precision, are reviewed. [Box: see text].