Actionable biomarkers: the key to resolving disorders of gastrointestinal function

A valid biomarker is defined as ‘a characteristic that is measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes or pharmacological responses to a therapeutic intervention’.1 The advent and validation of biomarkers based on identification of organic mechanisms, pathogenesis or pathophysiology have the potential to introduce individualisation in management of disorders of lower gastrointestinal function. An...