The identification of clinically relevant markers and therapeutic targets

The history of tumor biomarker discovery has been one of limited success. Population based screens are few and of limited clinical usefulness. Biomarkers that are able to segregate patients by diagnosis, prognosis and appropriate therapeutic selection are in great need and will be the basis of the clinical management in the future. This review sets out the challenges inherent in the field of tumor biomarker discovery and the tools that we are using to meet that challenge. It is now possible, using this suite of technologies, to discuss novel tumor biomarkers in terms of a pipeline rather than single unique events in research. The future of clinical oncology management will use markers such as those being identified via these techniques to improve patient care through better diagnosis and hopefully to achieve greater success in treatment by exploiting tumor markers as therapeutic targets.