0.46Novel biomarkers for early diagnosis and rule-out of Acute Myocardial Infarction
Autor(s): M. Caputo (Estratto dall'articolo originale pubblicato su RIMEL-IJLAM vol. 6, n. 4, 2010)
Issue: RIMeL - IJLaM, Vol. 6, N. 3-S1, 2010 (MAF Servizi srl ed.)
Page(s): 46
Today you can hardly ever open a medical journal andfind no articles describing a novel biomarker or a new potential application leading to an improved predictingvalue for an existing marker and for any sort of clinicaloutcome. A definition of biomarker applies in a wide ran-ge, from a molecule simply measured in blood or urine tothe very complicated profiles obtained from, e.g., geno-mics, proteomics, and imaging techniques. They also varyin accuracy, invasiveness of measurement, and cost. Exi-sting guidelines and recommendations for their introduc-tion in clinical practice, perhaps a little bit too liberal, fa-vour all too often a precocious presentation to the medi-cal profession, potentially leading to abuse/overuse and,thus, extra burden and costs to patients, the healthcare in-dustry, and the economy in general. The challenge for cli-nicians and medical researchers is how to optimally applyexisting and new markers/tests; meeting this challenge,however, requires rigorous evaluation of markers and te-sts. Since recently, a proper and accepted framework toquantify the clinical value of (novel) markers or tests isboth underdeveloped and urgently needed. The AmericanHeart Association recently issued a guideline with recom-mendations for research on markers for cardiovascularoutcomes. It is a suitable platform for immediate practicalapplication in the relevant topic of early diagnosis and ruleout of acute coronary syndromes.