COVER STORIES

The Recession Squeeze 
Labs Coping with Tough Times
By Bill Malone

A survey of CLN readers found that the economic downturn is taking a toll on labs. As job losses mount nationwide, those without health insurance will continue to strain the healthcare system and could mean increasing bad debt and lower volumes for labs.

The JUPITER Trial and CRP
Will the Results Change Clinical Practice?
By Gina Rollins

The recently released JUPITER study confirmed the role of CRP as a biomarker of cardiovascular risk and as a means of monitoring the impact of cholesterol-lowering therapy in individuals previously considered at average risk for cardiovascular disease. Yet there are questions about how CRP is being used by physicians and how the results of JUPITER will impact test utilization.

SERIES ARTICLE

Proteomics
What is the Role for Clinical Labs Now?
By James Ritchie, PhD, and Henry Rodriguez, PhD, MBA

The discovery of disease biomarkers using proteomic techniques holds enormous potential to revolutionize clinical practice and improve patient care. The NCI’s Clinical Proteomic Technologies for Cancer initiative aims to speed the transfer proteomic assays and analytes from research labs into clinical practice.

NEWS BRIEF

INSIDE

KRAS mutation testing has been shown to reliably predict which colorectal cancer patients will respond to therapy with EGFR inhibitors. Now the question is whether all colorectal cancer patients should be tested.

PROFILES