Today and tomorrow: the use of biomarkers in inflammatory bowel disease

Biomarkers play important roles in clinical care for people with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Biomarkers are also central to the development of new therapies and as endpoints in their evaluation. The recommendations from the STRIDE-II study emphasize the central role of clinical indices and biomarkers such as fecal calprotectin (FC) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the management of Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). This review will focus on the established roles for FC and CRP, emerging roles for alternative and composite biomarkers, limitations of current biomarkers, and unmet needs in the field. This is an evolving area, with recent clinical practice guidelines from the American Gastroenterological Association in UC. In addition, updates are expected from the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation on their multi-society guideline for IBD monitoring.