Diagnosing and treating autoimmune disorders is challenging due to significant heterogeneity in disease behavior and presentation. Initial symptoms, clinical course, treatment responses, and disease outcomes are highly variable and often unpredictable. Patients often wait years for a proper diagnosis. Autoantibodies can provide a solution.

Circulating autoantibodies are a characteristic feature of autoimmune disorders. Many are disease-specific and present at the early stages of disease onset, often before clinical symptoms appear. These characteristics make autoantibodies an excellent source of biomarkers for disease stratification and for tailoring individualized treatment.

While precise disease classification may be difficult using a single biomarker, combinations of biomarkers—biomarker signatures—can provide high predictive value.

Discussing about predictive biomarker to a patient