Biomarkers
There are a lot of new medical terms being developed in this time of explosion of medical research. One term is old but being expanded in use. This term is ‘biomarker’, which is short for a biological marker in the body. You have had some biomarkers assessed and analyzed already. These are body function measurements such as height, weight, blood pressure, pulse, and others. Other biomarkers that have commonly been used are analysis of your blood, urine, or stool samples.
In the analysis of biomarkers, standards of normal ranges are reviewed as well as your personal normal. For example, blood tests, such as white blood count (WBC) have normal range values that have been created using hundreds of thousands of blood samples. A high WBC can indicate an infection or cancer. A low WBC may indicate an overactive thyroid gland or be the result of chemotherapy or other medications. In either event, your individual medical history will help guide your healthcare professional to the source of variation.
A good example of individual variation is blood pressure after paralysis. There is a ‘normal’ range for blood pressure in the human population, but the effects of paralysis may lower your individual normal blood pressure. This is why we always say to assess your blood pressure to know your individual blood pressure range.
As of today, there are four classifications of biomarkers:
Molecular are samples such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid, biopsy, urine, stool, sputum, and others.
Radiographic are images from X-rays, CT scans, MRI, doppler studies, bone density, and others.
Histologic are alterations in cells, tissues, body fluids
Physiologic such as blood pressure, pulse, respirations, height, weight, etc.
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Biomarkers can be used to indicate your risk of some diseases such as the gene for breast cancer, for diagnosis of prostate cancer, to assess the probability of development of a healthcare issue such as stroke, to monitor diseases such as diabetes, to predict the development of some diseases such as arthritis, or safety as with liver functions tests or creatinine clearance in the urine. A newer very important biomarker assessment is the measurement of the effect of medications on body functions such as cholesterol, blood pressure, arthritis relief, and others.
Assessment of biomarkers does not mean something is wrong or that you have a disease. It is simply a measurement of your normal biomarker followed by monitoring for changes to adjust your treatment plan.
Biomarkers are being discussed in healthcare far more than in the past. An increased use of biomarker terminology will be discussed as new technologies and treatments are developed. These are new ways to assess and target treatments specific to your individual needs.