Classification of osteoarthritis biomarkers: a proposed approach

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) biomarkers are needed by researchers and clinicians to assist in disease diagnosis and assessment of disease severity, risk of onset, and progression. As effective agents for CA are developed and tested in clinical studies, biomarkers; that reliably mirror or predict the progression or amelioration of CA will also be needed. Methods: The NIH-funded CA Biomarkers Network is a multidisciplinary group interested in the development and validation of CA biomarkers. This review summarizes our efforts to characterize and classify CA biomarkers. Results: We propose the "BIPED" biomarker classification (which stands for Burden of Disease, Investigative, Prognostic, Efficacy of Intervention and Diagnostic), and offer suggestions on optimal study design and analytic methods for use in CA investigations. Conclusion. The BIPED classification provides specific biomarker definitions with the goal of improving our ability to develop and analyze OA biomarkers, and to communicate these advances within a common framework. (C) 2006 OsteoArthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved