A cancer biomarker is a compound or process in the body that detects cancer. A biomarker is a naturally occurring compound produced by a tumor or a specific body reaction to the presence of cancer. Biomarkers from biological, epigenetic, proteomic, glycemic, and image processing can help with cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and epidemiology. Biomarkers of this type should preferably be tested in non-invasively collected biofluids such as blood or serum.

Biomarker testing is a method of looking for proteins, genes, and other toxins (known as biomarkers or tumor markers) that can provide information about cancer. Each individual's cancer has a unique set of biomarkers. Some biomarkers have an impact on how chemotherapy drugs work. Biomarker testing could help you and your doctor decide on the best treatment for cancer for you.

Biomarkers can be used to evaluate patients for a variety of clinical purposes, such as predicting cancer risk, selecting suitable for occult cancer types, distinguishing between malignant and benign research results, or categorizing malignancies, evaluating diagnosis and prediction for cancer patients, and determining disease status, either to detect recurrence or to determine response or progression to therapy.

"Cancer" is a severe infection that is more common than you might think. According to the most recent WHO global cancer data, cancer will account for 19.3 million new cases and 10 million died from the disease in 2020. A lack of timely cancer screening is one of the significant issues that makes cancer more dangerous. Learn about biomarkers and how they can help detect cancer symptoms.

What role do biomarker tests play in cancer therapy selection?

Biomarker tests can help you and your doctor decide on the best cancer treatment for you. Some cancer treatments, such as therapeutic targets and immunotherapeutic, may be effective only in patients with specific biomarkers in their tumors.

Cancer patients that have certain genetic modifications in the EGFR gene, for example, can be treated with EGFR inhibitors that target those changes. Biomarker testing can ascertain whether a people's disease has an Epidermal growth factor receptor mutated gene that can be treated with an EGFR receptor in this case.

Biomarker testing may also help you find a clinical trial for a new cancer treatment in which you might be able to participate. Some studies enroll participants based on the biological markers in their cancer rather than the location of cancer in the body. Basket trials are another name for these.

Some other drug studies include biomarker testing. Biomarker tests, for example, are being used in NCI-MATCH and NCI-COG Pediatric MATCH studies to connect people to treatments due to genetic changes in their cancers.

How is biomarker testing performed?

If you and your doctors decide to include biomarker testing in your treatment, they will collect cancerous cell samples from you. A sample may be taken during surgery if you have a solid tumor. A biopsy of your tumor may be required if you are not having surgery.

If you have blood cancer or are undergoing a biomarker test, you would have to have a blood work. If you are unable to obtain a tumor biopsy safely, for example, because your tumor is difficult to reach with a syringe, a liquid biopsy test may be administered to you.

Your specimens would have been sent to a highly specialized lab for biomarker testing. The lab would then produce a report outlining the biomarkers discovered in your cancerous cells as well as any therapies that might be effective for you. Your health care team would then announce the findings to you in order for you to make a treatment decision.

If you have blood cancer or are undergoing a biomarker test, you would have to have blood work. If you are unable to obtain a tumor biopsy safely, for example, because your tumor is difficult to reach with a syringe, a liquid biopsy test may be administered to you.

Your specimens would have been sent to a highly specialized lab for biomarker testing. The lab would then produce a report outlining the biomarkers discovered in your cancerous cells as well as any therapies that might be effective for you. Your health care team would then announce the findings to you for you to make a treatment decision

Some biomarker exams that analyze genes would also ask for a sample of your normal tissue. A small sample of blood, saliva, or skin is usually taken to accomplish this. This test compares the usability of your cancer cells to healthy cells in designed to check genetic changes that took place during your lifetime. Somatic mutations, that can be inherited from the parents, cause the majority of cancers.

The average treatment cost for cancer biomarkers

In addition, it is among the costliest diseases to treat. Following a cancer diagnosis, a few patients would then collaborate with their healthcare provider to devise a treatment plan. Another factor to consider is the financial cost of biomarkers and therapeutic techniques. The cost of biomarker testing is distinguishable from the expense of any related treatments, which is an important distinction. The average cost of a biomarker examination, for example, is $1,700, whereas the average cost of cancer drugs ranges from $90,000 to more than $300,000. While highly precise medicine and biomarkers are still new treatment for people, some research has shown biomarkers have the potential to lower treatment costs.

Conclusion

Biomarkers play an important role in both drug development and the bigger biomedical research industry. Understanding the relationship between quantifiable biochemical functions and clinical outcomes is critical for increasing our arsenal of treatments for all diseases and deepening our comprehension of normal, healthy physiology.

Since at least the 1980s, the use of biomarkers as surrogacy arrangements has resulted in large tests of serious diseases like cancer and heart disease. The FDA continues to advocate for biomarker use in basic and clinical research, as well as research into new potential biomarkers for use as surrogacy in future trials.