Specificity of Genetic Biomarker Studies in Cancer Research: A Systematic Review.
systematic_review · Level I
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27383192.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0156489 and PMC identifier 4934683.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
As genetic information becomes more readily available, there is increasing demand from both patients and providers to develop personalized approaches to cancer care. Investigators are increasingly reporting numbers of studies correlating genomic signatures and other biomarkers to survival endpoints. The extent to which cancer-specific and non-specific effects are reported in contemporary studies is unknown. In this review of 85 high-impact studies associating genetic biomarkers with cancer outcomes, 95% reported significant associations with event-free survival outcomes, yet less than half reported effects on a cancer-specific endpoint. This methodology leaves open the possibility that observed associations are unrelated to cancer.
Medical subject headings
- Biomarkers, Tumor
- Neoplasms