title: A measure of the performance of biomarkers for disease.
abstract: The statistical properties required for effective biomarkers for disease are examined. It is shown that an "effectiveness parameter" D can be calculated that summarises the performance of a given biomarker and can distinguish between effective and ineffective biomarkers. D can be readily calculated from published summaries of biomarker levels and provides a simpler alternative to the commonly used "Area under the Curve" statistic. The impact of within-individual and between-individual variation in biomarker levels is also evaluated. An approach to the choice of sample size for experiments to estimate D is described.
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences, Glen Osmond, Australia.
authors.forename: Ian W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Saunders
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012494:Sampling Studies
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers