Dr. Tripathy on Connecting Markers to Clinical Outcomes

Debu Tripathy, MD, professor of medicine and co-leader of the Women’s Cancer Program at the University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, describes that tumor markers have to be used in the context of a clinical outcome and that when interpreting a marker it has to be in reference to an outcome.

Tripathy states that when using and sending for a biomarker test the outcome and how it will affect your decision needs to be clear. Trials are currently being conducted to create measurable outcomes that are tied to each marker. Knowing that a patient with a certain marker has a higher proven numerical chance of receiving benefit will aid the decision making process substantially.