Recent advances in oncoproteomics

Advances in proteomics are contributing to the understanding of pathophysiology of cancer, cancer diagnosis and anticancer drug discovery. Laser capture microdissection (LCM) provides an ideal method for extraction of cells from specimens in which the exact morphologies of both the captured cells and the surrounding tissue are preserved. Differentially expressed proteins in tumor tissue are found by comparing the protein expression patterns generated using SELDI (surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization)-based protein chip technology. Proteomic technologies have been used for the study of cancer of various organs. Continued refinement of techniques and methods to determine the abundance and status of proteins in vivo holds great promise for future study of cancer and development of personalized cancer therapies.