MARKING THE CANCERS: IMPORTANCE OF BIOMARKERS

The term "biomarker" refers to a particular characteristic that can be used to evaluate responses to an exposure or intervention, pathogenic processes, or typical biological processes. Many diseases, including cancer, can be diagnosed with the help of biomarkers. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) collaborated to identify biomarkers and their categories, which are available publicly through an online document updated constantly called the “Biomarkers, Endpoints, and other Tools” (BEST) website. According to their clinical application, the FDA-NIH Biomarker Working Group has classified biomarkers into seven categories: susceptibility and risk, diagnostic, monitoring, prognostic, predictive, pharmacodynamic and treatment response, and safety biomarkers. Cancer biomarkers can be studied in bodily fluids such as blood, stool, urine and less frequently, saliva/buccal swabs, exhaled breath, sputum, cerebrospinal fluid and other bodily fluids. Numerous methods can be employed to identify biomarkers. Fluorescence in situ hybridization, Immunohistochemistry, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay, Flow Cytometry, Microarrays, and Next Generation Sequencing are a few examples. Cancer biomarkers have a wide range of therapeutic applications, aiming to achieve precision medicine to maximize cancer prevention, screening, and treatment regimens. These applications include risk assessment, screening and early detection, accurate diagnosis, patient prognosis, therapy prediction, cancer surveillance and response monitoring.