Biomarkers for breast cancer: the search continues.

摘要

There are numerous publications describing analyses of biomarkers for different forms of cancer, with continued discovery of new potential biomarkers as more is learnt about specific disease processes and biology. However, despite the large numbers of often promising reports, the number of biomarkers that have emerged as clinically useful is remarkably small. Two factors that might account for the continued and growing interest in biomarkers for cancer include the increasing use of molec-ularly targeted therapies, which encourages the use of a marker with which to measure the specific tumor target and/or response to the therapy. A second factor is technological advances that have allowed the development of tests or devices that may measure the tumor marker with greater specificity than has been previously possible.