In recent years, biomarkers have brought a breakthrough revolution in the treatment of patients suffering from different types of cancers. Biomarkers refer to biological molecules such as DNA, RNA, metabolomics, proteins, antigens, and other biological fluids that indicate abnormal processes and diseases in the body. The widespread use of specific antigens in cancer screening has encouraged researchers to identify suitable biomarkers for screening different forms of cancer. These cancer biomarkers play an important role in diagnosis, treatment response, monitoring cancer progression, and predicting cancer recurrence.
However, with the introduction of high throughput technologies such as proteomics, genomics, mass spectrometry, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and bioinformatics, researchers are able to develop biomarkers that can predict outcomes of cancer management and treatment with higher accuracy rates. Over the years, different molecular markers have been characterized and identified for making cancer treatment associated decisions. It is worth noting that more than 70 unique biomarkers based tests have been provided by the leading players engaged in the cancer biomarkers market to identify tumor cells for clinical research and commercial usage. Beyond cancer diagnosis, researchers are increasing research to explore the application of biomarkers beyond cancer diagnosis. The ongoing efforts towards high throughput tools for accurate diagnosis and treatment are anticipated to drive the cancer biomarkers market in the future.
To date, several physicians are increasingly using these tools to collect information about a patient’s tumor environment to identify the treatment strategy that is most likely to fight against a wide range of cancers. Driven by the significance offered by the cancer biomarkers, researchers are developing novel biomarkers. Key biomarkers such as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), microsatellite instability (MSI) / mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and many others are currently being investigated across different stages of clinical studies. The discovery of advanced biomarkers will help clinicians determine the types of factors driving tumor cell growth—precise information will help create personalized treatment plans for eradicating cancer cells.
Calcitonin levels are high in the serum of a thyroid medullary carcinoma patient, and further clinical assessments may be effective in screening for this malignancy. Calcitonin is a hormone generated by parafollicular C cells in a gland called the thyroid that regulates blood calcium levels. This hormone is raised in malignancies of the parafollicular C cells, also known as medullary thyroid carcinoma.
Hence, the future of cancer treatment is estimated to be dependent upon the cancer biomarkers that will direct physicians during each stage of cancer management. Cancer biomarkers can be utilized to accurately assess and control the illness at different stages. They can be used to predict various outcomes throughout illness progression, including early identification, forecasting outcomes, and disease recurrence. Most crucially, with the clinical debut of many new therapeutic drugs, relevant indicators may be used to forecast which tumors will react to which therapies, as well as the risk of drug resistance.
The next step after identifying biomarkers is to determine the target-specific therapies and personalized medicines. In the future, the focus will be on developing target-specific drugs that interrupt potential drivers of tumor growth. However, it is worth noting here that not all types of cancer currently have biomarkers. Cancer marker market players continue gaining invaluable insight into genomic alterations and identifying novel biomarkers. As researchers will be able to gain in-depth profiling of tumors using biomarkers, better-personalized therapy options will be developed to treat patients.