Breast cancer accounts for a massive and very frequently occurring disease
among females throughout the world. In spite of several approaches for the detection of
cancer at an early stage and diverse curative strategies that are coming out, the
discovery of a potent, efficacious, and unique biomarker is requisite for precise
diagnosis at an early stage, as prognostic predictors and as a marker of the development
of therapeutic resistance. In the current scenario, the availability of validated breast
cancer biomarkers is almost nil. Barely a handful of biomarkers that have a practical
advantage in terms of prognosis and diagnosis include estrogen receptor (ER),
progesterone receptor (PR), and HER-2 with limitations. Therefore, the urge of precise
biomarkers for the detection of breast cancer stands in need. The progress and
utilization of proteomic techniques for the discovery of new protein biomarkers have
revolutionized the way of understanding the biology and the associated pathways
involved in the progression of the disease. With the help of proteomics, now plenty of
prospective protein and peptide biomarkers can be identified from the samples using
high-throughput analysis. In this chapter, we covered the techniques, which are
routinely employed for treatment, diagnosis, and prognosis of breast cancer with all
their benefits and drawbacks. It also includes recent advancements in the field of
proteomics and their utility in search of new cancer biomarkers.
Keywords: Biomarker, Breast cancer, Differential in-gel electrophoresis,
Electrospray ionization, Mammography, Mass spectrometry, Mass-to-charge
ratios, Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization, Multiple reaction monitoring,
Peptide, Proteomics, Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SALDI).
