Adding value to real-world data: the role of biomarkers

Adding biomarker information to real world datasets (e.g. biomarker data collected into disease/drug registries) can enhance mechanistic understanding of intra-patient differences in disease trajectories and differences in important clinical outcomes. Biomarkers can detect pathologies present early in disease potentially paving the way for preventative intervention strategies, which may help patients to avoid disability, poor treatment outcome, disease sequelae and premature mortality. However, adding biomarker data to real world datasets comes with a number of important challenges including sample collection and storage, study design and data analysis and interpretation. In this narrative review we will consider the benefits and challenges of adding biomarker data to real world datasets and discuss how biomarker data have added to our understanding of complex diseases, focusing on rheumatoid arthritis.