title: Potential surrogate endpoints in cancer research--some considerations and examples.
abstract: We present an introductory survey of the use of surrogates in cancer research, in particular in clinical trials. The concept of a surrogate endpoint is introduced and contrasted with that of a biomarker. It is emphasized that a surrogate endpoint is not universal for an indication but will depend on the mechanism of treatment. We discuss the measures of validity of a surrogate and give examples of both cancer surrogates and biomarkers on the path to surrogacy. Circumstances in which a surrogate endpoint may actually be preferred to the clinical endpoint are described. We provide pointers to the recent substantive literature on surrogates.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research UK Centre for EMS, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.forename: F P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Treasure
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers; D054316:Biomarkers, Pharmacological; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D054928:Validation Studies as Topic
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D054316:Biomarkers, Pharmacological