I learned quite a bit from this article about Biomarkers...could this be perhaps the next "at home" test to be developed? As the article states it could become quite time consuming and costly for a "healthy" person who is not being monitored for any chronic conditions to visit the doctor several times a year for this type of test..."The goal of this research group is to develop a fully automated system that can be placed in supermarkets, pharmacy stores, hospitals, and clinics for the general public to test their cancer marker levels as frequently as necessary at affordable prices." BD 
UroToday.com - Millions of people around the world face the risk of cancer, which has been one of the leading causes of mortality. The early detection of cancer can significantly improve the treatment and survival rate of cancer patients. As tumors develop, the cells, tissues and organs can increase or decrease the release of certain chemicals in the circulatory system. These specific chemicals are called biomarkers. Some of these biomarkers have been approved by FDA for the in-vitro diagnosis of different types of cancer. A well known example is the test of PSA (prostate specific antigen) level for prostate cancer detection. A total PSA level of 4 ng/mL is generally considered as a normal threshold, and when this value exceeds 10 ng/mL, the chance of prostate malignancy is increased substantially.
Cancer markers not only exist in cancer patients, but also can be found in normal and healthy people, however, they exist in these populations at different levels of concentration. A biomarker concentration varies by gender, race, and age, and the concentration fluctuates depending on other non-cancerous physical conditions. A biomarker level which is normal for one person could be an indicator of cancer occurrence for another person. Without knowing the biomarker level history of a person, doctors could easily arrive at a false-positive or negative conclusion based on a one-time test or using only a limited amount of biomarker level testing.
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