Identification of Biomarkers

For oncology, biomedical research has proven to be a particularly prolific research field. In order to develop an individualised therapy it is not only necessary to know the location and size of a tumour but also its molecular make-up. So-called biomarkers can help to predict whether a therapy is likely to be successful or not. They are endogenous substances whose quantity in the blood is changed by a tumour.

For patients this test is easy: only a blood sample is needed to determine whether they will respond to the planned therapy or not. For the hospital, the test is not so easy: it requires sophisticated technology which only few laboratories can provide: ProQinase GmbH (www.proqinase.com) is such a laboratory and has all the technological equipment required for biomarker identification at its disposal. The company also co-operates closely with the Cancer Hospital SanaFontis on a European research project and as a result, our hospital is able to offer patients this vitally important procedure.