World J Oncol

World Journal of Oncology, ISSN 1920-4531 print, 1920-454X online, Open Access

Article copyright, the authors; Journal compilation copyright, World J Oncol and Elmer Press Inc

Journal website http://www.wjon.org

Review

Volume 2, Number 4, August 2011, pages 151-157

Biomarker for Cancer: A great Promise for Future

Figure

Figure 1. Working of biomarkers.

Tables

**Table 1.** Desirable Characteristics of Biomarker for Cancer
Purpose	Non-invasive	Low cost	Simple to perform	Accurate	Informative (discriminatory)
Screening	+++	+++	+++	+++	+++
Predisposition	+++	+++	+++	+++	+++
Early detection	++	++	++	+++	+++
Prognosis	+	+	+	++	++
Drug response	+++	++	++	+++	+++
Target for drug	NA	+	NA	+++	NA

**Table 2.** Currently Used Biomarkers in Different Fields
Types of cancer biomarker	Biomarker
1. Genetic biomarker	Biomarker of PTEN tumor suppressor gene status
1. Genetic biomarker	Gene mutation Oncogene
2. DNA biomarker	Gene amplification
	Microsatellite instability
	Mitochondrial DNA
	Viral DNA
3. RNA biomarkers: microRNAs	Protein biomarker
	B7 co-regulatory ligands
	Raised serum lactate dehydrogenase
	High-motility group protein A2
4. Metabolic biomarker	Hypoxia-induced factor-1
5. Epigenic biomarker: DNA methylation	Immunological biomarker: T-cell and cytokine responses
5. Epigenic biomarker: DNA methylation	Biomarker in cancer stem cells: crpto-1