PNNL

Abstract

Chronic pain affects over 100 million Americans. Treatments remain inadequate, in large part because the biological mechanisms underlying pain remain poorly understood. Biomarkers can identify and measure pain mechanisms, provide biological treatment targets, and identify at-risk patients who would benefit from early intervention. Use of biomarkers has become standard for other diseases but not yet for chronic pain. To address this problem, the NIH Common Fund launched the Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures (A2CPS) program to evaluate existing biomarkers, develop biosignatures, and discover novel biomarkers and biosignatures for post-surgical chronic pain after total knee arthroplasty or thoracic surgery. Biomarkers will include genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, neuroimaging, and biopsychological measures, making it the most comprehensive investigation of biomarkers for pain undertaken. Data and analytic resources generated by A2CPS will be shared with the scientific community in hopes that other investigators will extract valuable insights beyond A2CPS’s initial findings.