The Fisher laboratories are engaged in applying routine pathologic, image-based morphologic and biochemical biomarker research to improve the early detection, staging, monitoring, and prognosis of prostate cancer (CaP) and other urologic cancers.

A biomarker is a cancer property that can be objectively measured in tissue, serum, or urine and is an indicator of biological or pathogenic processes, or a patient’s pharmacologic or physiologic responses to a therapeutic intervention.

Dr. Robert Veltri, Director of the Fisher Biomarker Laboratory

BIOMARKERS

Biological Marker (Biomarker) A characteristic or alteration that can be objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of biological or pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention.” Biomarkers have been used for diagnosis, staging, prognosis, and for monitoring response to an intervention.

TYPES OF BIOMARKERS

Clinical Endpoint Biomarker (CEB) as: “A characteristic or variable that reflects how a patient feels, functions, or survives.” Such endpoints are the most credible and distinct measurements or analyses of disease characteristics observed in a study or clinical trial involving a therapeutic intervention.

Surrogate Endpoint Biomarker (SEB) “A biomarker that is intended to substitute for a clinical or “True endpoint” . Therefore, A SEB includes treatment assessment and other applications that include the prediction of clinical benefit (or harm or lack of benefit or harm) based upon established epidemiologic, therapeutic, pathophysiologic, or other scientific evidence. SEBs represents a subset of biomarkers that prove clinically useful primarily in determining the value of a therapeutic or chemopreventive agent. Occasionally, an SEB may be applied in natural history of disease or epidemiological studies. An effective SEB that has been applied in a clinical trial ultimately should become a part of clinical practice in the management of the disease being studied.