Definition
Central to the personalized medicine approach is the utilization of biomarkers—measurable indicators of biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention. Biomarkers enable clinicians to make informed decisions about diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy selection, enhancing treatment efficacy and patient outcomes.
Pharmacodynamic Biomarkers
Pharmacodynamic biomarkers are crucial for assessing a drug’s biological effect on the body. They help in understanding the mechanism of action of a therapeutic agent and in monitoring its efficacy and toxicity. By measuring these biomarkers, clinicians can adjust dosages to optimize therapeutic effects while minimizing adverse reactions.
Example: In cancer therapy, the decrease in tumor size measured through imaging or reduction in specific tumor markers in the blood can serve as pharmacodynamic biomarkers, indicating the patient’s response to the treatment.
Predictive Biomarkers
Predictive biomarkers are used to identify individuals who are more likely to respond to a particular therapeutic intervention. They play a vital role in therapy selection by predicting the efficacy or toxicity of a treatment for a specific patient based on their biological characteristics.
Example: The presence of the HER2 protein overexpression in breast cancer patients is a predictive biomarker that indicates likely responsiveness to trastuzumab, a targeted therapy against HER2-positive tumors.
Prognostic Biomarkers
Prognostic biomarkers provide information about the likely course of a disease independent of treatment. They help in stratifying patients based on the aggressiveness of their disease, which can inform decisions regarding the intensity and type of treatment required.
Example: Elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in prostate cancer patients can serve as a prognostic biomarker, indicating a higher risk of disease progression and potentially guiding the need for more aggressive therapy.
| Name | Description | Health Results |
| Waist to hip ratio | Abdominal obesity index | Hypertension, CHD, insulin-dependent diabetes and stroke |
| Total cholesterol | Helps in the synthesis of bile acids and steroid hormones | At middle age: Coronary heart disease (CHD) and mortality of all causes at an older age: u-shaped relation to death |
| Systolic blood pressure (SBP) | Cardiovascular activity index: maximum pressure in an artery when the heart supplies the body with blood | Cardiovascular death (CVD), stroke, coronary heart disease (CHD) |
| Fasting glucose | Measures the amount of sugar in the diabetes index | Diabetes, CHD, mortality, poor cognitive function |
