Biomarkers, Cancer Therapy & Clinical Research

Biomarkers for Cancer Diagnosis

A cancer biomarker refers to a substance or process that is indicative of the presence of cancer in the body. A biomarker may be a molecule secreted by a tumor or a specific response of the body to presence of cancer. Genetic, epigenetic, proteomic, glycolic, and imaging biomarkers can be used for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and epidemiology. While some cancer biomarkers can be used to predict how aggressively your cancer will grow, and are therefore useful for assessing your prognosis, the most promising use of biomarkers today is to identify which therapies a patient’s cancer may or may not respond to.