Prognostic Markers

Prognostic markers stratify patients for risk of recurrent disease, and predictive markers are used in treatment planning for identification of therapeutic targets. There are many different types of prognostic markers including patient age, physical exam findings, and initial laboratory testing. However, prognostic markers identified within the tumor genome are becoming some of the most powerful clues that a clinician has about how a tumor will behave and what treatments may be effective. Genetic prognostic markers tell us about the tumor biology and increasingly affect the management of cancer. Many patients and their clinicians now request “prognosis and diagnosis” and expect a realistic assessment of their chances of survival and response to treatment that is based on the unique characteristics of their individual tumor.