What is a Biomarker?
Cancer Biomarkers
A biomarker is any physical characteristic of the human body that can be measured. Your blood pressure is a biomarker. A hemoglobin level is a biomarker. Some biomarkers can be linked to a particular diagnosis, to disease outcomes, response to medication or other therapy. In oncology, important biomarkers that can be measured include the DNA, RNA and protein within a tumor. These biomarkers can be used to make a diagnosis, to predict cancer aggressiveness or to predict that a particular therapy will be effective.
Measuring Cancer Biomarkers Provides Information to Guide Therapy and Predict Outcomes
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a molecule inside the cell that carries genetic information and passes it on from one generation to the next. DNA can be evaluated for aberrations such as gene mutations or copy number alterations (e.g., gene amplification) that can cause a cancer cell to proliferate.
RNA (ribonucleic acid) contains information that has been copied from DNA. RNA biomarkers can be interrogated for gene fusions or a clinically relevant variant transcript.
Proteins are comprised of amino acids. In normal cells, they support proper body functioning and are the basis of body structures such as skin and hair. In cancer, evaluating protein expression provides information on cancer type, optimal treatment, and can assess treatment efficacy.
Which biomarkers are important to measure? Caris’ molecular profiling measures a comprehensive set of biomarkers to help oncologists make informed treatment decisions.
Cancer has a unique molecular profile. Identifying this profile helps to guide patient therapy.
Understanding How Biology Informs Treatment Decision-Making
In pathology, evaluating a tumor’s cellular architecture and selecting from established diagnostic markers generally leads to a proper diagnosis. Interrogating a tumor’s biology may confirm a suspected diagnosis. A new diagnosis might be found after thorough molecular evaluation of a tumor specimen, sometimes altering the course of management.
Assessing Cancer Biomarkers Leads to a Precise Treatment Plan
Caris’ comprehensive lab approach reveals what is happening at the molecular level of a tumor to affect patient care. Incorporating the most current molecular profiling technologies and linking them to published clinical studies from academic cancer centers provides the best treatment options available.
Share Your Molecular Profiling Story
Have you or a loved one received molecular profiling from Caris? If so, we’d love to hear about your cancer journey and how molecular profiling played a role. Your story may provide strength and support to others who are battling cancer.
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Are you looking for an oncologist with expertise in molecular profiling? Caris maintains a database of physicians who have previously ordered Caris molecular profiling offerings.
Hear from those who courageously share their cancer journey including Caris molecular profiling, offering valuable insights and perspectives that go beyond the statistics and outcomes.