Except, as it turns out, the warning was actually about hours spent sitting down increasing early biomarkers for cancer.
Biomarkers reveal such useful things as the effectiveness of potential new drugs in individuals or groups, as well as the likelihood of adverse reactions.
In America the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration FDAA) have set up initiatives to push along drug discovery and development.The personal touchThe sequencing of the human genome opened a new world of biomarkers.
(Manufacturers of certain breakfast cereals would, no doubt, be interested in this idea).In this section Food fight Food for thought Cold, quickly The next small thing Reprints Related items The technology of taste: Food for thoughtJul 5th 2001An even wackier proposal is that, along with their rations, soldiers of the future will ingest "biomarkers".
While now a standard test for prostate cancer, PSA is not without its critics (see article).The latest thinking in the search for early detection of cancer is to combine several biomarkers.
Biomarkers can also be used to monitor and classify a disease, identify the best treatment, and catch early signs of a recurrence.
By comparing tissue samples from various patients in this way, researchers have been able to pinpoint genes that appear to be implicated in specific cancers.Another way to detect potential biomarkers is to look at the products that genes make.
A forthcoming report from the OECD argues that genetic biomarkers are emerging as one of the most effective means of improving the efficiency of drug discovery.Researchers are now trying to find out to what extent the efficacy and safety of many new drugs is influenced by genetic factors.
But Sudhir Srivastava, who heads the Early Detection Research Network for the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, is optimistic that biomarkers will start a revolution in cancer care.
But we do not agree that PSA is a flawed marker, though testing can be improved.New biomarkers, such as the prostate health index, which is derived from PSA and includes in its mathematical formula some isoforms of PSA, have shown to be more accurate in predicting cancer and avoiding unnecessary biopsy.
Drugmakers would love to have reliable biomarkers for many more diseases.To that end, companies are starting to talk about pitching in together.
