Affiliations: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA,
USA | University of California School of Nursing, Los
Angeles, CA, USA
Note: [] Corresponding author: Richard Zangar, Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd, Richland, WA 99352, USA. Tel.: +1 509 376 8596;
Fax: +1 509 376 6767; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Identifying useful markers of cancer can be problematic due to
limited amounts of sample. Some samples such as nipple aspirate fluid (NAF) or
early-stage tumors are inherently small. Other samples such as serum are
collected in larger volumes but archives of these samples are very valuable and
only small amounts of each sample may be available for a single study. Also,
given the diverse nature of cancer and the inherent variability in individual
protein levels, it seems likely that the best approach to screen for cancer
will be to determine the profile of a battery of proteins. As a result, a major
challenge in identifying protein markers of disease is the ability to screen
many proteins using very small amounts of sample. In this review, we outline
some technological advances in proteomics that greatly advance this capability.
Specifically, we propose a strategy for identifying markers of breast cancer in
NAF that utilizes mass spectrometry (MS) to simultaneously screen hundreds or
thousands of proteins in each sample. The best potential markers identified by
the MS analysis can then be extensively characterized using an ELISA microarray
assay. Because the microarray analysis is quantitative and large numbers of
samples can be efficiently analyzed, this approach offers the ability to
rapidly assess a battery of selected proteins in a manner that is directly
relevant to traditional clinical assays.
Keywords: proteomics, protein microarray, biomarker, mass spectrometry
