Biomarkers and asthma management: analysis and potential applications

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine
• Biomarker Discovery
• Precision Medicine

Background:

• Asthma exhibits significant heterogeneity in pathophysiology and treatment response, leading to inadequate patient management.
• Biomarkers are crucial for identifying asthma subtypes, predicting prognosis, and monitoring treatment efficacy.
• Current biomarkers have limitations in sensitivity and specificity, hindering personalized treatment approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of biomarkers in understanding asthma heterogeneity and guiding treatment.
• To discuss the limitations of conventional asthma biomarkers and the potential of novel approaches.
• To highlight the need for validated biomarkers for precision medicine in asthma management.

Main Methods:

• Review of established and emerging biomarkers for asthma.
• Analysis of conventional markers (e.g., blood eosinophils, FeNO, IgE) for type 2-high asthma.
• Evaluation of advanced models combining biomarkers and omics techniques.

Main Results:

• Conventional markers for type 2-high asthma show limited sensitivity and specificity.
• Combined biomarker models and omics approaches offer improved identification of asthma subtypes.
• A recent model achieved 100% positive predictive value for type 2-high asthma using minimally invasive markers.

Conclusions:

• Individualized asthma treatment based on biomarkers is essential for better disease control.
• Novel biomarkers and models require validation and standardization for clinical application.
• Development of robust biomarkers will facilitate precision medicine strategies for asthma.