Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift
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The question of when a certain concentration of a serum biomarker turns into a tumor marker, i. e. an objectively verifiable criterion for tumor diagnosis, leads to the analysis of the specificity (a measure of the proportion of correctly identified healthy individuals), sensitivity (a measure of the proportion of correctly recognized cancer patients), and precision (positive predictive value). Or in short: a tumor marker is specific if no healthy individual has one. This constitutes the problem: The serum concentrations of biomarkers of cancer patients and healthy subjects overlap. Healthy individuals occasionally have "tumor markers" and cancer patients in turn sometimes express inconspicuous biomarkers.
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Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. · Dec 2012
Review Comparative Study[Characteristics and management of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: INSIGHTS-IPF registry].
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a manifestation of chronic progressive fibrosing interstitial pneumonia, is with a prevalence of 2-29 cases per 100,000 individuals a rare disease. Current treatment options are limited, and the mean survival time of the newly diagnosed (mostly elderly) patients is only about 2-3 years. ⋯ It is planned to document 500 patients in 30 centers. The registry will contribute to the optimization of the management of IPF patients in the long term.