%0 Journal Article %T Contribution of oncoproteomics to cancer biomarker discovery %A William CS Cho %J Molecular Cancer %D 2007 %I BioMed Central %R 10.1186/1476-4598-6-25 %X More than 11 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year. It is estimated that there will be 16 million new cases every year by 2020. From a total of 58 million deaths worldwide in 2005, cancer accounts for 7.6 million (or 13%) of the global mortality. Deaths from cancer in the world are projected to continue rising, with an estimated 9 million people dying from cancer in 2015 and 11.4 million dying in 2030.As an important biological indicator of cancer status and progression for the physiological state of the cell at a specific time, biomarkers represent powerful tools for monitoring the course of cancer and gauging the efficacy and safety of novel therapeutic agents. They can have tremendous therapeutic impact in clinical oncology, especially if the biomarker is detected before clinical symptoms or enable real-time monitoring of drug response. There is a critical need for expedited development of biomarkers and their use to improve diagnosis and treatment for cancer. Malignant transformation involves alterations in protein expression with subsequent clonal proliferation of the altered cells. These alterations can be monitored at the protein level, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Protein signatures in cancer provide valuable information that may be an aid to more effective diagnosis, prognosis, and response to therapy.The recent progress of proteomics has opened new avenues for cancer-related biomarker discovery. Advances in proteomics are contributing to the understanding of pathophysiology of neoplasia, cancer diagnosis, and anticancer drug discovery. With the advent of new and improved proteomic technologies such as the development of quantitative proteomic methods, high-resolution, high-speed, high-throughput, high-sensitivity mass spectrometry (MS) and proteinchip, as well as advanced bioinformatics for data handling and interpretation, it is possible to discover biomarkers that are able to reliably and accurately predict outcomes during cancer %U http://www.molecular-cancer.com/content/6/1/25