Oncogenomics and cancer proteomics – novel approaches in biomarkers Discovery and therapeutic targets in cancer

Abstract

Study related to diseases such as cancer has changed tremendously for a decade. For many years, the study was restricted largely to a single gene or a few genes in cancer cells. The studies have uncovered the roles of individual genes in the uncontrolled behavior of cáncer cells. Studying the functional roles of genes in cancer cells has deepened our understanding not only the cancer cells as well as normal cells. Since 2003 onwards, the trend of publications was focusing on the analysis of thousands of genes with related molecular pathways. Steps taken from this analysis is then translated to clinical practice for the biological markers for an early detection, monitoring, prognosis of the disease and response to therapy. The completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 enabled a new era in biological sciences, in particular molecular medicine. The availability of the database of full sequences of approximately 3 billion base pairs and approximately 30,000 genes in human DNA will lead to a better understanding of physiological and pathophysiological changes in human body. Genome-wide expression technology allows the simultenous analysis of thousands of genes in a single experiment. The availability of the technology alters the way biological experiments can be designed. This has resulted of so called ‘discovery biology’. The large amount of data produced by microarray resulted to new and unexpected features of celular functions.