http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?id=3057 Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:29:13 +0000 PunBB 1.4.2 http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewtopic.php?pid=19406#p19406 Biomarkers can be defined as indicators of any biologic state, and they are central to the future of medicine. Biomarkers can indicate normal biological processes, or they can indicate abnormal or diseased processes. They can measure a response to drugs or the effectiveness of a medical treatment, and they can reveal whether individuals and populations are more likely to respond to certain treatments. Of course, biomarkers also have limitations; a single biomarker must be considered only one part of a much larger and more complex biological system that, on its own, cannot provide a clear picture of cause and effect.
 
Institute of Medicine of the National Academies

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