The Emerging Biomarkers in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Narrative Review

The burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is increasing, especially for women in low-to-middle income countries. Biomarkers provide ever-increasing diagnostic precision for COPD and show promise for primary, secondary, and tertiary disease prevention. This review describes emerging...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kaitlin M. Phillips, Philip F. Lavere, Nicola A. Hanania, Muhammad Adrish
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Diagnostics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/10/1245
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850258073832128512
author Kaitlin M. Phillips
Philip F. Lavere
Nicola A. Hanania
Muhammad Adrish
author_facet Kaitlin M. Phillips
Philip F. Lavere
Nicola A. Hanania
Muhammad Adrish
author_sort Kaitlin M. Phillips
collection DOAJ
description The burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is increasing, especially for women in low-to-middle income countries. Biomarkers provide ever-increasing diagnostic precision for COPD and show promise for primary, secondary, and tertiary disease prevention. This review describes emerging applications for biomarkers in COPD, especially as they align with the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) emphasis on prevention, early diagnosis, and response to therapy. These biomarkers include blood eosinophils; IgE; C-reactive protein; fibrinogen; procalcitonin; interleukins 6, 8, and 33; tumor necrosis factor alpha; and soluble receptor for advanced glycated products (sRAGE). They have been used in various ways to identify COPD endotypes, predict exacerbations, predict mortality, and monitor the response to therapy. The fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is increasingly studied in eosinophilic COPD endotypes and can be a diagnostic and predictive non-invasive biomarker. Imaging biomarkers, especially the quantitative computerized tomography (QCT) assessment of airway remolding, functional small airway disease, air trapping, lung function, and volume surrogates, all serve as non-invasive biomarkers for screening, early detection, and disease progression. Biomarkers facilitate all the phases of COPD care from detecting early airflow obstruction to predicting exacerbation and mortality. Biomarkers will be increasingly used as precise diagnostic tools to improve the COPD outcomes. The aim of this narrative review is to summarize the recent investigations in COPD biomarkers and their clinical applications.
format Article
id doaj-art-e32a2b4cb98d47b185f658e3d063a448
institution OA Journals
issn 2075-4418
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Diagnostics
spelling doaj-art-e32a2b4cb98d47b185f658e3d063a4482025-08-20T01:56:16ZengMDPI AGDiagnostics2075-44182025-05-011510124510.3390/diagnostics15101245The Emerging Biomarkers in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Narrative ReviewKaitlin M. Phillips0Philip F. Lavere1Nicola A. Hanania2Muhammad Adrish3Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USASection of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USASection of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USASection of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USAThe burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is increasing, especially for women in low-to-middle income countries. Biomarkers provide ever-increasing diagnostic precision for COPD and show promise for primary, secondary, and tertiary disease prevention. This review describes emerging applications for biomarkers in COPD, especially as they align with the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) emphasis on prevention, early diagnosis, and response to therapy. These biomarkers include blood eosinophils; IgE; C-reactive protein; fibrinogen; procalcitonin; interleukins 6, 8, and 33; tumor necrosis factor alpha; and soluble receptor for advanced glycated products (sRAGE). They have been used in various ways to identify COPD endotypes, predict exacerbations, predict mortality, and monitor the response to therapy. The fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is increasingly studied in eosinophilic COPD endotypes and can be a diagnostic and predictive non-invasive biomarker. Imaging biomarkers, especially the quantitative computerized tomography (QCT) assessment of airway remolding, functional small airway disease, air trapping, lung function, and volume surrogates, all serve as non-invasive biomarkers for screening, early detection, and disease progression. Biomarkers facilitate all the phases of COPD care from detecting early airflow obstruction to predicting exacerbation and mortality. Biomarkers will be increasingly used as precise diagnostic tools to improve the COPD outcomes. The aim of this narrative review is to summarize the recent investigations in COPD biomarkers and their clinical applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/10/1245biomarkersCOPD endotypesFENOeosinophilic COPDquantitative computerized tomography
spellingShingle Kaitlin M. Phillips
Philip F. Lavere
Nicola A. Hanania
Muhammad Adrish
The Emerging Biomarkers in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Narrative Review
Diagnostics
biomarkers
COPD endotypes
FENO
eosinophilic COPD
quantitative computerized tomography
title The Emerging Biomarkers in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Narrative Review
title_full The Emerging Biomarkers in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Narrative Review
title_fullStr The Emerging Biomarkers in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Narrative Review
title_full_unstemmed The Emerging Biomarkers in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Narrative Review
title_short The Emerging Biomarkers in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Narrative Review
title_sort emerging biomarkers in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease a narrative review
topic biomarkers
COPD endotypes
FENO
eosinophilic COPD
quantitative computerized tomography
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/15/10/1245
work_keys_str_mv AT kaitlinmphillips theemergingbiomarkersinchronicobstructivepulmonarydiseaseanarrativereview
AT philipflavere theemergingbiomarkersinchronicobstructivepulmonarydiseaseanarrativereview
AT nicolaahanania theemergingbiomarkersinchronicobstructivepulmonarydiseaseanarrativereview
AT muhammadadrish theemergingbiomarkersinchronicobstructivepulmonarydiseaseanarrativereview
AT kaitlinmphillips emergingbiomarkersinchronicobstructivepulmonarydiseaseanarrativereview
AT philipflavere emergingbiomarkersinchronicobstructivepulmonarydiseaseanarrativereview
AT nicolaahanania emergingbiomarkersinchronicobstructivepulmonarydiseaseanarrativereview
AT muhammadadrish emergingbiomarkersinchronicobstructivepulmonarydiseaseanarrativereview