Pulling Out Proteins

Researchers have long pinned hopes on biological indicators—or molecular biomarkers—to serve as tools to help clinicians identify populations at risk, classify tumor types, or monitor disease progression in cancer, which is diagnosed in an estimated 11 million people worldwide each year. Genes have held the spotlight for many years as potential biomarkers of cancer, but increasingly, researchers are turning to individual proteins or groups of proteins and their modifications with the belief that these molecules hold secrets to cancer pathophysiology.