Biomaterial Database

Prognostic immunohistologic markers in human tumors: why are so few used in clinical practice? 2006

Yasodha Natkunam, and David Y Mason

Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. yaso@stanford.edu

Technological advances in gene cloning and genome-wide analyses have greatly increased the number of new tumor markers that can be detected by immunohistologic techniques. While many of these have been evaluated with respect to prognosis, there is a striking discrepancy between the number of markers reported to confer prognostic information and those that are used in clinical practice. We argue that lessons learned from epidemiological studies are applicable to studies of immunohistologic markers; in particular, advances in both fields can be vitiated by non-causal associations. We suggest that the most valuable immunohistologic markers are those that reflect genetic abnormalities, that are linked to the cell of origin, or that reflect tumor infiltrating cells or stromal reactions. It should also be appreciated that a marker that is genuinely predictive of prognosis may nevertheless not find any application in clinical practice if it becomes obsolete through the introduction of newer therapies or because there is no choice of alternative treatment strategies.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009369	Neoplasms	New abnormal growth of tissue. Malignant neoplasms show a greater degree of anaplasia and have the properties of invasion and metastasis, compared to benign neoplasms.	Benign Neoplasm,Cancer,Malignant Neoplasm,Tumor,Tumors,Benign Neoplasms,Malignancy,Malignant Neoplasms,Neoplasia,Neoplasm,Neoplasms, Benign,Cancers,Malignancies,Neoplasias,Neoplasm, Benign,Neoplasm, Malignant,Neoplasms, Malignant
D011379	Prognosis	A prediction of the probable outcome of a disease based on a individual's condition and the usual course of the disease as seen in similar situations.	Prognostic Factor,Prognostic Factors,Factor, Prognostic,Factors, Prognostic,Prognoses
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014408	Biomarkers, Tumor	Molecular products metabolized and secreted by neoplastic tissue and characterized biochemically in cells or BODY FLUIDS. They are indicators of tumor stage and grade as well as useful for monitoring responses to treatment and predicting recurrence. Many chemical groups are represented including HORMONES; ANTIGENS; amino and NUCLEIC ACIDS; ENZYMES; POLYAMINES; and specific CELL MEMBRANE PROTEINS and LIPIDS.	Biochemical Tumor Marker,Cancer Biomarker,Carcinogen Markers,Markers, Tumor,Metabolite Markers, Neoplasm,Tumor Biomarker,Tumor Marker,Tumor Markers, Biochemical,Tumor Markers, Biological,Biochemical Tumor Markers,Biological Tumor Marker,Biological Tumor Markers,Biomarkers, Cancer,Marker, Biochemical Tumor,Marker, Biologic Tumor,Marker, Biological Tumor,Marker, Neoplasm Metabolite,Marker, Tumor Metabolite,Markers, Biochemical Tumor,Markers, Biological Tumor,Markers, Neoplasm Metabolite,Markers, Tumor Metabolite,Metabolite Markers, Tumor,Neoplasm Metabolite Markers,Tumor Markers, Biologic,Tumor Metabolite Marker,Biologic Tumor Marker,Biologic Tumor Markers,Biomarker, Cancer,Biomarker, Tumor,Cancer Biomarkers,Marker, Tumor,Markers, Biologic Tumor,Markers, Carcinogen,Metabolite Marker, Neoplasm,Metabolite Marker, Tumor,Neoplasm Metabolite Marker,Tumor Biomarkers,Tumor Marker, Biochemical,Tumor Marker, Biologic,Tumor Marker, Biological,Tumor Markers,Tumor Metabolite Markers