Cancer biomarkers can be used for several purposes in cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring. They include substances made by tumors or the body's response to cancer that can be detected in tissues, blood or other bodily fluids. Some key types of biomarkers are those that trigger abnormal cell growth, support a treatment's mechanism of action, or disrupt a treatment's effects. Overall, biomarkers help by aiding early detection, predicting treatment responses, and monitoring disease progression or recurrence. However, many currently used biomarkers still lack specificity and sensitivity.

1. “
Cancer Biomarkers

2.  A cancer biomarker refers to a substance or process that is
indicative of the presence of cancer in the body. A biomarker is a
molecule secreted by a tumor or a specific response of the body to the
presence of cancer.
 Cancer Markers are made by normal cells as well as by tumor cells.
These are the substances that are produced by cancer or by other
cells of the body in response to cancer or certain begin conditions.
These substances can be found in the blood, urine, stool, tumor tissue,
or other tissues or bodily fluids of some patients with cancer

3. ROLE OF BIOMARKERS IN CANCER
Cancer biomarkers can play a role in
screening the general population, or
differential diagnosis in symptomatic
patients, and clinical staging of cancer.
Additionally, these markers can be used to
estimate tumor volume, to evaluate
response to treatment, to assess disease
recurrence through monitoring, or as
prognostic indicators of disease
progression. Regardless of the type of
cancer biomarker or profile, the use of a
cancer biomarker must be associated with
proven improvements in patient outcomes.
A caveat concerning currently used tumor
markers is that, generally, they suffer from
low diagnostic specificity and sensitivity.
Only a few cancer biomarkers have
entered routine use.
Diagnosis
Risk
Assessment
Screening
Patient
Stratification
Monitoring
Therapy
Staging
Prognosis
Role of Cancer
Biomarkers

4. Diagnosis
-While the only way to confirm a breast cancer diagnosis is by biopsy, biomarkers
can aid in diagnosis and help determine the primary origin of the tumor.
Risk Assessment
-These biomarkers are frequently associated with a predisposition to cancer and
can inform a woman's future risk of developing breast cancer. Healthcare
providers often recommend that individuals with these gene mutations consider
more frequent screenings in an attempt to detect breast cancer at an early
stage.
Screening
-Biomarkers for screening and detection are real-time indicators of the presence of
cancer. The body may respond to the presence of a tumor by creating and
releasing immune factors (such as antibodies) or by shedding serum proteins,
circulating tumor cells and DNA fragments into the bloodstream.

5. Cancer
Biomarkers
Diagnosis
Biomarkers
Protein
Biomarkers
Detection
Biomarkers
DNA Biomarkers
Prognosis
Biomarkers
Pathological
Biomarkers
Glyco Biomarkers
Imaging
Biomarkers
RNA Biomarkers
Predictive
Biomarkers
Based on Disease State Based on Biomolecules Based on the other Criteria
In Silico
Biomarkers

6. Predictive biomarkers
-Predictive biomarker is defined as a biomarker used to identify individuals who
are more likely than similar individuals without the biomarker to experience a
favorable or unfavorable effect from exposure to a medical product or an
environmental agent. Predictive biomarkers, sometimes referred to as response
markers, are utilized exclusively in assessing the effect of administering a specific
drug.
Prognostic Biomarkers
-A prognostic biomarker helps indicate how a disease may develop in an
individual when a disorder is already diagnosed. The presence or absence of
a prognostic marker can be useful for the selection of patients for treatment but
does not directly predict the response to a treatment.

7. DNA Biomarkers
-Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in many genes are
major DNA markers, including XRCC1, p53 (lung, head, and
neck cancers); CYP1A1, RAD1, BRCA1 and BRCA2 (breast
cancer); and PGS2 (lung cancer). Other major DNA markers
include loss of hetrozygosity (LOH); variation in copy number
of genes; chromosomal aberrations at a gross cytogenetic
level.
RNA Biomarkers
-Some of methods used to detect cancer biomarkers at the RNA
expression level include Quantitative Reverse Transcription
Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT- qPCR), Serial Analysis of
Gene Expression (SAGE), differential display, bead-based
methods, and microfluid card and micro-array analysis. Pure
RNA signature procurements are attempted by laser capture-
based microscopy in different grades and stages of therapy.

8. ◦ There are many types of cancer biomarkers, and they each
work differently within the body and react differently to
treatments. In general, cancer biomarkers are classified by
their different functions:
Biomarkers that Trigger Cells to Grow and Multiply
Abnormally
An example of this type of biomarker is the HER2 protein, which helps
to control cell growth. If HER2 is “overexpressed” in cancer cells, the
cells are considered “HER2-positive,” meaning they produce more of
the protein than is normal. This condition can possibly cause the cells
to grow more quickly and increase their chances of metastasizing
(spreading) to other parts of the body. It also means that treatments
known to disrupt the HER2 signaling pathway are likely to help stop the
cancer’s growth.

9. ◦ Biomarkers That Support a Treatment’s
Cellular or Molecular Action
This type of biomarker is exemplified by a gene
called SPARC, which stands for Secreted Protein,
Acidic, Cysteine-Rich. SPARC helps bring albumin
— (a type of protein found in blood, egg whites,
milk, and other substances into cells). Some
chemotherapeutic drugs are bound (“packaged”)
with albumin to prevent them from being dissolved
in the bloodstream before they reach their target
cells. Therefore, an overexpression of SPARC helps
treatments bound with albumin work more
effectively by bringing the treatment right into the
cell.
◦ Biomarkers That Disrupt a
Treatment’s Cellular or Molecular
Action
Some chemotherapeutic drugs are made with
platinum to disrupt tumor DNA. However, there is
a protein called ERCC1 that repairs tumor DNA. If
biomarker testing detects high levels of ERCC1 in
a patient’s tumor, platinum-based agents aren’t
likely to be very effective for that patient.
Even within the above biomarker categories,
there is variety. For example, molecules that
trigger abnormal cell growth can come from a
gene mutation or from extra copies of an
otherwise healthy gene within the tumor’s DNA.

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