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Review
. 2017 Jun;195(3):273-280.
doi: 10.1007/s00408-017-9993-5. Epub 2017 Mar 28.

Blood Biomarkers in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Julien Guiot  1 , Catherine Moermans  2 , Monique Henket  2 , Jean-Louis Corhay  2 , Renaud Louis  2
Affiliations
Review

Blood Biomarkers in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Julien Guiot et al. Lung. 2017 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and lethal lung disease of unknown origin whose incidence has been increasing over the latest decade partly as a consequence of population ageing. New anti-fibrotic therapy including pirfenidone and nintedanib have now proven efficacy in slowing down the disease. Nevertheless, diagnosis and follow-up of IPF remain challenging.

Methods: This review examines the recent literature on potentially useful blood molecular and cellular biomarkers in IPF. Most of the proposed biomarkers belong to chemokines (IL-8, CCL18), proteases (MMP-1 and MMP-7), and growth factors (IGBPs) families. Circulating T cells and fibrocytes have also gained recent interest in that respect. Up to now, though several interesting candidates are profiling there has not been a single biomarker, which proved to be specific of the disease and predictive of the evolution (decline of pulmonary function test values, risk of acute exacerbation or mortality).

Conclusion: Large scale multicentric studies are eagerly needed to confirm the utility of these biomarkers.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; Interstitial lung disease; Pulmonary fibrosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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