Overcoming the Deficiency of Singular Detection by Antibody Arrays in Cancer Biomarker Discovery

Abstract

Since cancer is a heterogeneous disease, it is unlikely that a single biomarker will detect all cancers of a particular organ with high specificity and sensitivity. Thus, detection of expression of multiple proteins is essential to unraveling the mechanisms and effects of carcinogenesis. Antibody arrays have been developed to meet this growing demand. The ability to simultaneously measure the expression profiling of multi-protein markers will provide a powerful platform for identification of new cancer biomarkers. In this review, we will discuss the planar format of antibody array technology, its suitability and challenges for cancer biomarker discovery, and examples of its applications for biomarker discovery and validation in a wide variety of human cancers.