Bladder cancer research

Comparative proteomics research has identified proteins in the profile of muscle-invasive bladder cancer cells that could be used in biomarker panels for screening and targeted therapies.

The research, published in Cancer Cell International,¹ aimed to facilitate candidate biomarkers selection and improve network-based multi-target therapy by using comparative proteomics on muscle-invasive bladder transitional cell carcinoma.

Laser capture microdissection was used to harvest the cells, which were then analysed using two-dimensional liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. This allowed the researchers to identify the proteome expression profile of the cells, which was then analysed further using bioinformatics tools.

Several pathways were found to exhibit significant differences between cancer and normal cells. The study identified the proteome expression of both the cancer cells and the normal urothelial cells, which the researchers reports will provide information for subcellular pattern research of cancer and offer candidate proteins for biomarker panels and targeted therapies.

1. H.T. Niu et al., Cancer Cell Int., 11(17), 1–17 (2011).