A proteomics based approach for the identification of gastric cancer related markers

Gastric cancer (GC) is the amongst the most common cancer types causing second largest number of cancer related deaths globally. GC is characterized as an aggressive malignancy which is very tough to be detected at an early stage. GC has been defined as a complex, multistep process involving multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations leading to aberrant expression of key regulating factors. GC according to WHO has been defined as malignant epithelial tumors of the gastric mucosa with glandular differentiation. About one half of the GCs are located in the lower stomach, and remaining is located in the corpus and fundus of the stomach (20%), lesser curvature (20%), cardia (10%) and greater curvature (3%). GC has been classified into intestinal and diffuse types based on epidemiological and clinico- and histopathological features. The etiology of GC is multifactorial and includes dietary as well as non-dietary factors. Despite a lot of research efforts, GC remains to be the cancer without clear symptoms at onset, poor prognosis, with metastasis and recurrence. Thus, there is an urgent need for identifying novel and diagnostic GC biomarkers and techniques with high sensitivity and specificity. In the present review, we provide a synopsis of proteomics based GC biomarkers discovered from various cancerous specimens such as blood, gastric fluid, tissues, cells and H. pylori infected cancer cell lines. The advent of proteomics based GC biomarkers will be a great asset for the early detection and treatment of GC.