Biomarker News and Research

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A biomarker is a biological molecule found in blood, other body fluids, or tissues that is a sign of a normal or abnormal process, or of a condition or disease. A biomarker may be used to see how well the body responds to a treatment for a disease or condition. Also called molecular marker and signature molecule.

New ultra-specific test now available for prostate cancer

A new urine test for prostate cancer that measures minute fragments of RNA is now commercially available to men nationwide through the University of Michigan MLabs.

27 Sep 2013

Copenhagen researchers gain insight in molecular mechanisms behind breast cancer metastasis

Researchers at University of Copenhagen have gained more insight into the molecular mechanisms of importance for, for example, cancer cell growth and metastasis. The research objective is improved and more targeted drugs. The findings have just been published in the scientific journal Molecular Cell.

26 Sep 2013

NCI Re-Ups Biomarker Strategies’ SBIR Award For Melanoma Cdx

BioMarker Strategies received a $1.5 million SBIR award to develop a pathway-based companion diagnostic test to facilitate the selection of optimal therapy for patients with melanoma. This award was preceded by an NCI award of $200,000 almost two years ago in September 2011.

25 Sep 2013

Immune marker prognostic after non-clear cell RCC surgery

The preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio is associated with disease-free survival in patients undergoing resection of localized non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma, research shows.

24 Sep 2013

Scientists validate new system for identifying individuals with preclinical Alzheimer's disease

For years, scientists have attempted to understand how Alzheimer's disease harms the brain before memory loss and dementia are clinically detectable. Most researchers think this preclinical stage, which can last a decade or more before symptoms appear, is the critical phase when the disease might be controlled or stopped, possibly preventing the failure of memory and thinking abilities in the first place.

24 Sep 2013

Protein pair may be prognostic biomarker for identifying smoking-related lung cancers

Mayo Clinic researchers have shown that a specific protein pair may be a successful prognostic biomarker for identifying smoking-related lung cancers. The protein — ASCL1 — is associated with increased expression of the RET oncogene, a particular cancer-causing gene called RET. The findings appear in the online issue of the journal Oncogene.

20 Sep 2013

Iron levels hint at resistance to harmful effects of smoking

Researchers from Japan say that serum iron levels could be a biomarker that indicates which smokers are resistant to the effects of cigarette smoke on lung function.

19 Sep 2013

Florida Hospital To Evaluate VTT’S Alzheimer’S Biomarker Assay

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is taking an important step toward advancing its Alzheimer's disease biomarker by collaborating with the Florida Hospital Neuroscience Institute to evaluate screening, diagnostic, and prognostic potential of the biomarker assay and utilize it to specifically target which types of precautions to take when approaching early stages of the disease.

19 Sep 2013

Blood lipid marker may help predict risk for Parkinson's disease

A genetic mutation, known as GBA, that leads to early onset of Parkinson's disease and severe cognitive impairment (in about 4 to 7 percent of all patients with the disease) also alters how specific lipids, ceramides and glucosylceramides are metabolized. Mayo Clinic researchers have found that Parkinson's patients who do not carry the genetic mutation also have higher levels of these lipids in the blood. Further, those who had Parkinson's and high blood levels were also more likely to have cognitive impairment and dementia.

19 Sep 2013

OGT to share expertise in NGS assay design through live webinar presentation

Oxford Gene Technology, provider of innovative genetics research and biomarker solutions to advance molecular medicine, will share its expertise in NGS assay design by hosting a live webinar entitled ‘Enhanced bait design strategies that deliver more reliable NGS panel assays’ on 3rd October 2013, at 3:00pm (BST).

From Oxford Gene Technology 19 Sep 2013

SHBG protein indicates risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome years in advance

Over the last decade researchers have amassed increasing evidence that relatively low levels of a protein called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) can indicate an elevated risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome years in advance.

19 Sep 2013

Promising early findings from Parkinson’s biomarker study

Early results from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative suggest that some cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers hold diagnostic and prognostic promise.

18 Sep 2013

Florida Hospital and VTT of Finland collaborate to predict early onsets of Alzheimer's disease

In an effort to better understand the development of Alzheimer's disease, Florida Hospital Neuroscience Institute and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland are collaborating to identify the biomarker assay that may predict early onsets of the disease.

18 Sep 2013

Mayo Clinic to host annual Individualizing Medicine Conference from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2

From Promise to Practice is the title and the main message of the second annual Individualizing Medicine Conference at Mayo Clinic, Sept. 30-Oct. 2. Physicians from more than 40 states and several countries will be arriving in Minnesota to hear and learn about the latest developments and research in genomic research and how to move these discoveries into the medical practice.

18 Sep 2013

NIEHS grant renewal opens next chapter in 18-year research effort into brain injury biomarker

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has awarded a five-year, $1.5 million grant extension to Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health to fund research into the function of a biomarker for brain injury called Translocator Protein 18 kDa, better known as TSPO, in order to better understand its function in brain injury and inflammation and discover targets for therapy.

17 Sep 2013

Study reports identification of IDH1 protein as novel biomarker for diagnosis of NSCLC

A protein called isocitrate dehydrogenase is present at high levels in lung cancers and can be detected in the blood, making it a noninvasive diagnostic marker for lung cancers, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

17 Sep 2013

Biomarker News and Research

Further Reading

New ultra-specific test now available for prostate cancer

Copenhagen researchers gain insight in molecular mechanisms behind breast cancer metastasis

NCI Re-Ups Biomarker Strategies’ SBIR Award For Melanoma Cdx

Immune marker prognostic after non-clear cell RCC surgery

Scientists validate new system for identifying individuals with preclinical Alzheimer's disease

Protein pair may be prognostic biomarker for identifying smoking-related lung cancers

Iron levels hint at resistance to harmful effects of smoking

Florida Hospital To Evaluate VTT’S Alzheimer’S Biomarker Assay

Blood lipid marker may help predict risk for Parkinson's disease

OGT to share expertise in NGS assay design through live webinar presentation

SHBG protein indicates risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome years in advance

Promising early findings from Parkinson’s biomarker study

Florida Hospital and VTT of Finland collaborate to predict early onsets of Alzheimer's disease

Mayo Clinic to host annual Individualizing Medicine Conference from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2

NIEHS grant renewal opens next chapter in 18-year research effort into brain injury biomarker

Study reports identification of IDH1 protein as novel biomarker for diagnosis of NSCLC

microRNA-486 found to be potent tumor-suppressor molecule in lung cancer

Repeated exposure to low level blasts causes harmful effects in brain

Gentris expands genomic biomarker offering with launch of Affymetrix GeneChip HTA services

Researchers identify biomarker that can predict diabetes risk

Breathing New Life into Diagnostics: Plasmion's SICRIT Technology

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