title: Biomarker discovery, development, and implementation in France: a report from the French National Cancer Institute and cooperative groups.
abstract: Biomarkers are increasingly changing the medical practice in oncology. One of the major challenges in the field of personalized medicine or biologically adapted therapies is to ensure a rapid and extensive implementation of emerging biomarkers as soon as proof of their medical usefulness is obtained. A special program has been developed in France to facilitate the assessment and use of biomarkers. The French National Cancer Institute has set up a total of 28 laboratories in public hospitals to perform biomarker testing for clinical use. This program is enabling all patients who present with cancer to receive free testing for biomarkers, such as K-Ras, epidermal growth factor receptor, c-Kit, and Braf mutations. Funding for these laboratories comes from the French Ministry of Health. The future of these laboratories includes the development of DNA arrays and multiplex technologies for clinical use. Toward that end, the French National Cancer Institute is financing several large clinical trials that several large clinical trials are currently evaluating the feasibility and medical utility of DNA arrays and next-generation sequencing in the context of academic centers. The programs are being run by cooperative groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, France. fandre@igr.fr
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Andre
authors.forename: Frederique
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arnedos
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lacroix
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Viens
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calvo
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis* / Q000191:economics; D005602:France; D006078:Government Programs; D033161:Government Regulation; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor