Differential proteomics in the search for biomarkers of radiotherapy resistance

Abstract

The individualization of radiotherapy treatment would be beneficial for cancer patients; however, there are no predictive biomarkers of radiotherapy resistance in routine clinical use. This article describes the body of work in this field where comparative proteomics methods have been used for the discovery of putative biomarkers associated with radiotherapy resistance. A large number of differentially expressed proteins have been reported, mostly from the study of novel radiotherapy-resistant cell lines. Here, we have assessed these putative biomarkers through the discovery, confirmation and validation phases of the biomarker pipeline, and inform the reader on the current status of proteomics-based findings. Suggested avenues for future work are discussed.

Keywords::

• antibody microarrays
• apoptosis
• biomarkers
• cell cycle
• DNA repair
• mass spectrometry
• proteomics
• radioresistance
• radiotherapy

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Lucy Scaife is funded by the Princess Royal Hospital Cancer Trust Fund. The funding body had no role in study design; collection, analysis or interpretation of data; writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.