What is a Biomarker?
A biomarker is simply a shortened term for a “biological marker”. Biomarkers are an objective measure, or medical sign, that gives a snapshot of what is happening in the body at a given moment [1, 7, 8, 9]. At the organism level, biomarkers can include measures like body weight and blood pressure, but many biomarkers require lab tests as they exist at the cellular level. Your healthcare provider can use biomarkers to identify risk or severity of disease, catch dysfunction in your body, or confirm that your body is functioning healthily [5]. Scientists can study these cellular biomarkers to better understand disease progression, biological processes, and advance medical practice.
Types of Biomarkers
There are a vast number of measures that can be classified as biomarkers, but the ones you, and your healthcare providers, care about are biomarkers that are clinically relevant.
aka. Does this biomarker give me useful insights into the state of my health or my chronic disease?
The best biomarkers are ones with a well-established relationship between marker and outcome [12], and for our purposes can be organized into two main categories:
Diagnostic Biomarkers
Diagnostic biomarkers are used to determine if a patient has a particular medical condition, and whether a treatment should be initiated [3]. These are especially useful when diseases (such as cardiovascular disease) have many different subtypes with significantly different prognoses and responses to treatment [2, 3].
For example, blood sugar or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) may be used as a diagnostic biomarker to identify patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus [3].
Another diagnostic biomarker is Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is used in the diagnosis (and monitoring) of prostate cancer [6].
Predictive Biomarkers
Predictive biomarkers tell us what might happen in the future. Within predictive biomarkers there are a few sub-types [2, 6];
- Susceptibility/Risk Biomarkers: can predict one’s likelihood of developing a disease.
- Prognostic Biomarkers: indicate outcomes, such as the likelihood of a clinical event, or disease recurrence and progression, in patients who already have the disease.
- Predictive Biomarkers: used to identify if an individual will have a more favourable or less favourable outcome to a treatment for a particular disease.
There are numerous biomarkers that fit within this category. Recent research is uncovering many biomarkers involved in cardiovascular disease [11], proteins and genes involved in cancers such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer [6], osteoarthritis [4] and more.
Why Biomarkers Matter for Your Health
Early Detection and Prevention
Biomarkers can help identify diseases early, even before symptoms appear [5, 10]. This early detection saves lives, improves treatment outcomes, reduces suffering, and relieves economic burden that would occur if the disease goes unmanaged [8].
In most diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, treatment is significantly easier when the disease is caught early in it’s progression and is more localized [8, 10]. Preventing diseases from progressing past initial elevated risk is the ideal scenario, but if initiating treatment is indicated, the early identification of this need means less aggressive interventions, and decreased uncomfortable side effects for patients [8].
Personalized Medicine
Personalized medicine, referred to in the medical community as precision medicine, is undergoing a revolution due to advances in medical technology such as biomarker testing [1]. Using biomarkers, such as predictive markers(described above) physicians can identify which treatment plans are most likely to work for an individual, targeting the therapies more specifically based on their body’s responses [1].
How Biomarkers Are Tested
Common Testing Methods
Biomarkers can be tested in multiple ways, often in very simple and non-invasive ways. Simple biomarkers such as heart rate and blood pressure can be taken without the need for any samples from the body. Blood tests and other bodily fluid samples allow for the collection of a vast array of biomarkers, and in some more specific cases (such as cancer treatments) more invasive test such as bone marrow samples and biopsies may be requested by the care team.
If you do not have a complex disease and simply want insights into the current status of your health, a few drops of blood can give you a wealth of information. Getting this information fast, without needing to leave your home, is now possible with Chromacare’s rapid at-home testing kits.
Conclusion
Biomarkers are transforming healthcare by providing valuable insights into disease risk, progression, and treatment effectiveness. From early detection and prevention to personalized medicine, these biological indicators empower both patients and healthcare providers to make informed decisions. With advancements in testing technology, accessing key health metrics has never been easier. Whether through routine monitoring or at-home testing solutions, understanding your biomarkers can be a proactive step toward better health.
Shop Chromacare’s At-Home Rapid Biomarker Tests
References
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Biomarker testing is helping doctors find precision treatments for patients that could dramatically improve health outcomes. GSK. (n.d.). https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/behind-the-science-magazine/biomarker-testing-ai-tumours-hepatitis-respiratory-cancer/
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Nielsen, R.L., Monfeuga, T., Kitchen, R.R. et al. Data-driven identification of predictive risk biomarkers for subgroups of osteoarthritis using interpretable machine learning. Nat Commun 15, 2817 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46663-4
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Ou, F.-S., Michiels, S., Shyr, Y., Adjei, A. A., & Oberg, A. L. (2021). Biomarker discovery and validation: Statistical considerations. Journal of Thoracic Oncology, 16(4), 537–545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2021.01.1616
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Pozzi, L. (n.d.). 7 Types of Biomarkers. Atlas Antibodies. https://www.atlasantibodies.com/knowledge-hub/blog/7-types-of-biomarkers/?language=en
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Strimbu, K., & Tavel, J. A. (2010). What are biomarkers? Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS, 5(6), 463–466. https://doi.org/10.1097/coh.0b013e32833ed177
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Tenchov, R., Sapra, A. K., Sasso, J., Ralhan, K., Tummala, A., Azoulay, N., & Zhou, Q. A. (2024). Biomarkers for early cancer detection: A landscape view of recent advancements, spotlighting pancreatic and liver cancers. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, 7(3), 586–613. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.3c00346
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Biomarkers. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/science/biomarkers#:~:text=A biomarker (short%20for%20biological,monitor%2C%20or%20predict%20disease%20risk.
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Wilkins, J. T., Ning, H., Sniderman, A., Stone, N., Otvos, J., Jacobs, D. R., Shah, R., Murthy, V. L., Rana, J., Allen, N., & Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (2022). Analysis of APOB concentrations across early adulthood and predictors for rates of change using Cardia Study Data. Journal of Lipid Research, 63(12), 100299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlr.2022.100299
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Wong, Y.-K., & Tse, H.-F. (2021). Circulating biomarkers for cardiovascular disease risk prediction in patients with cardiovascular disease. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2021.713191
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