Biomarkers playan enormous role in laboratory medicine. Here are the most important reasons:

• Biomarkers are measurable biological characteristics that indicate health and disease.
• They are used in laboratory medicine to make diagnoses, monitor treatments and detect risks at an early stage.
• There are different types, such as diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers, with specific roles.
• The measurement is carried out by blood tests, urine analyses or genetic tests, standardized in laboratories for reliability.

Definition and types

Biomarkers, or biological markers, are measurable characteristics in blood, tissue or other body fluids that provide information about health status. They can indicate normal processes, diseases or reactions to treatments. Examples include blood glucose for diabetes or prostate specific antigen (PSA) for prostate cancer.

There are different types of biomarkers:

• Diagnostic biomarkers identify diseases, e.g. cardiac troponin in heart attacks.
• Risk markers indicate the risk of disease, such as the BRCA gene for breast and ovarian cancer.
• Prognostic biomarkers provide information about the course of the disease, e.g. HER2/neu in tumors.
• Predictive biomarkers predict therapeutic success, such as dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase activity in chemotherapy.
• Early detection markers enable early diagnosis, e.g. PSA for prostate cancer.

Significance in laboratory medicine

In laboratory medicine, biomarkers are measured using specific tests, such as blood tests or genetic analyses. These measurements are standardized and quality-controlled to ensure reliable results. They help to make diagnoses quickly and accurately, individualize treatments and monitor disease progression. An unexpected benefit is their role in preventive medicine, where they can identify individuals at increased risk of disease before symptoms appear, which can lead to better treatment outcomes.

Matching:

New urine test detects high-grade prostate cancer – MedLabPortal

DNA methylation identified as a biomarker for the early diagnosis of lung cancer – MedLabPortal

Biomarkers: New criteria to avoid overdiagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease – MedLabPortal

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