At the 6th European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC), held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1316 April 2016, Keith Kerr, BSc, MB ChB, FRCPath, FRCPE, from the University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, summarises future research directions for biomarkers in the management of patients with lung cancer, including the opportunities and challenges associated testing for multiple biomarkers and liquid biopsies.