Biomarkers Will Aid in Disease Diagnosis

Members of The Science Advisory Board were asked in which area they believed deciphering biomarker expression patterns would have the most clinical utility. Of the 1722 individuals who responded to the Instant Poll, 40% stated that disease diagnosis would principally benefit from this knowledge.

ARLINGTON, VA (PRWEB) August 7, 2003 -- Members of The Science Advisory Board were asked in which area they believed deciphering biomarker expression patterns would have the most clinical utility. Of the 1722 individuals who responded to the Instant Poll, 40% stated that disease diagnosis would principally benefit from this knowledge.

The remaining respondents were divided when assessing the role of biomarkers in disease prognosis and drug response monitoring with 20% of the responses representing each of these two categories. A small minority, 11%, felt that patient stratification would be improved by knowing the biomarker expression patterns of these individuals.

A biomarker is a particular protein(s) that is unique to a certain disease state. For instance, quite significant changes in the expression of genes and their resulting proteins occur when normal cells are transformed into a cancerous state. These changes include both gain and loss of function. Identifying which patterns are associated with which diseases will empower patients and physicians by providing them with more options at earlier stages of the disease.

I predict that the ultimate test as to whether biomarkers will be routinely used in the clinic depends upon their detection limits," observes Tamara Zemlo, Ph.D., MPH, Director of Scientific and Medical Communications for The Science Advisory Board, if the sensitivity and specificity can approach 100%, disease diagnosis using biomarker expression patterns will transform medicine." One striking application of this new technology would be to reliably detect low prevalence cancers while they are still highly treatable."

For more information or to interview a scientist who works on biomarkers, please contact Dr. Tamara Zemlo at t.zemlo@scienceboard.net or 703.778.3080 x25.

ABOUT THE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD

The Science Advisory Board (http://www.scienceboard.net) is an online panel of more than 15,800 scientists, physicians and other life science and medical professionals from 62 countries. By convening electronically, Science Advisory Board members participate in online studies to voice their opinions on issues that directly affect the evolution and development of the tools and techniques of their professions. The Science Advisory Board is currently conducting ongoing studies in other exciting areas of the life sciences. Scientists can contribute their own views on the tools and techniques of their field by participating at http://www.scienceboard.net. The Science Advisory Board was organized in 1997 by BioInformatics, LLC (http://www.gene2drug.com), a research and consulting firm located in Arlington, VA.

CONTACT:
Dr. Tamara Zemlo
Director, Scientific & Medical Communications
The Science Advisory Board
2111 Wilson Blvd, Suite 250
Arlington, VA 22201
703.778.3080 x25 phone
t.zemlo@scienceboard.net
http://www.scienceboard.net