Abstract

Although proteomics is a very recently developed science, important advances have already occurred in this field. There is growing interest in the scientific community for using this technology as a high-throughput innovative strategy for biomarker discovery in the field of cancer research. However, certain challenges must be overcome before reaching this goal. The basis for discovering reliable biomarkers is rooted in technical and biological parameters. The main biological limit is outlining tumor heterogeneity, while methodological issues include appropriate study designs, the use of sensitive technologies for screening, and the employment of confident strategies for data validation. This review focuses on the major questions related to the strengths and limitations of the development of cancer biomarkers by proteomic- based studies.

Keywords: Biomarkers, cancer, design of studies, mass spectrometry, proteomics, tumor heterogeneity.