Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have discovered that microRNAs – molecular workhorses that regulate gene expression – are released by cancer cells and circulate in the blood, which gives them the potential to become a new class of biomarkers to detect cancer at its earliest stages.

Ohio University scientists have identified several proteins in mice that might act as biomarkers for growth hormone. The research could be the first step to finding a more reliable way to detect recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH), which some athletes and teenagers use illegally to boost muscle and reduce fat.

Plasma osteopontin is an early detection and prognostic marker in malignant pleural mesothelioma NYU Cancer Institute’s Harvey Pass, M.D., professor of cardiothoracic surgery and surgery; division chief of thoracic surgery and thoracic oncology, at NYU Langone Medical Center

Indiana University School of Medicine researchers discovered biomarkers in the blood, which seem to account for mood disorders.The scientists said that the finding may change the way bipolar illness is diagnosed and treated.

Researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center have discovered biomarkers that predict which patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer will respond to a combination treatment of the anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex and the growth factor receptor blocker Tarceva.

In an advance toward earlier diagnosis of cancer and other disorders, scientists are reporting development of a potentially fast, simple and inexpensive blood test to detect disease “biomarkers.” The study is scheduled for the Dec. 26 issue of ACS’ Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication.

Mayo Clinic researchers have identified the first immune molecule that appears to play a role in prostate cancer development and in predicting cancer recurrence and progression after surgery. The report on the B7-H3 molecule by Mayo Clinic Cancer Center appears today in Cancer Research.

A potential new biomarker for heart failure may be more powerful than established measures in identifying patients at increased risk for death from several causes.

Clinicians currently lack advance warning of acute kidney injury (AKI) for patients where kidney injury timing is unknown. Now paediatric research published in the open access journal, Critical Care, has identified a potential biomarker to predict AKI earlier than current tests, opening a vital window for prevention of this life-threatening condition.

While new findings from Ohio State University scientists suggest a genetic marker that could help distinguish between chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer and gauge who will do well with cancer treatment, a pharmacologist at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia sees the discovery as much more.