Role of cardiac and cancer markers acknowledged

B-type natriuretic peptide has an 'essential' role in cost-efficient heart failure strategies designed to reduce inappropriate demand for echocardiography

Bayer Diagnostics recently took its immunodiagnostics roadshow to Dartford, Kent, UK, informing local biochemists about the new FDA-approved B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and HER-2/neu methods now available for its automated immunoassay systems.

Paul Collinson, consultant chemical pathologist at St George's Hospital, London, addressed delegates on the performance characteristics of BNP which, he said, can be used as a rapid, convenient and reliable rule-out test for heart failure in both acute and chronic presentations.

After reviewing clinical data supporting the efficacy of the method, he described the essential role of BNP in cost-efficient heart failure strategies designed to reduce inappropriate demand for echocardiography.

Rainer Neumann of Bayer's European scientific affairs department gave a presentation on the potential clinical utility of the cancer marker HER-2/neu in patients with breast cancer.

He explained how measurement of circulating HER/2-neu not only provides a tool for assessing prognosis and monitoring/predicting response to a variety of therapies but also facilitates early detection of disease progression, as evidenced by a recently-published literature review.

Back to top