title: Current advances in esophageal cancer proteomics.
abstract: We review the current status of proteomics for esophageal cancer (EC) from a clinician's viewpoint. The ultimate goal of cancer proteomics is the improvement of clinical outcome. The proteome as a functional translation of the genome is a straightforward representation of genomic mechanisms that trigger carcinogenesis. Cancer proteomics has identified the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and tumor progression, detected biomarker candidates for early diagnosis, and provided novel therapeutic targets for personalized treatments. Our review focuses on three major topics in EC proteomics: diagnostics, treatment, and molecular mechanisms. We discuss the major histological differences between EC types, i.e., esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, and evaluate the clinical significance of published proteomics studies, including promising diagnostic biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets, which should be further validated prior to launching clinical trials. Multi-disciplinary collaborations between basic scientists, clinicians, and pathologists should be established for inter-institutional validation. In conclusion, EC proteomics has provided significant results, which after thorough validation, should lead to the development of novel clinical tools and improvement of the clinical outcome for esophageal cancer patients. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Medical Proteomics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Aichi Cancer Center Hospital, 1-1 Kanokoden, chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8681, Japan. Electronic address: nuemura@aichi-cc.jp.
authors.forename: Norihisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uemura
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacoproteomics, National Cancer Center Research Institute, 5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan. Electronic address: takondo@ncc.go.jp.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D057285:Precision Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D009363:Neoplasm Proteins
keywords: Biomarker; Esophageal cancer; Molecular mechanism; Neoadjuvant therapy; Proteomics