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Review
. 2013 Jul 16;14(7):14771-84.
doi: 10.3390/ijms140714771.

Clinical advances in molecular biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and therapy

Seema Sethi  1 , Shadan Ali, Philip A Philip, Fazlul H Sarkar
Affiliations
Review

Clinical advances in molecular biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and therapy

Seema Sethi et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Cancer diagnosis is currently undergoing a paradigm shift with the incorporation of molecular biomarkers as part of routine diagnostic panel. The molecular alteration ranges from those involving the DNA, RNA, microRNAs (miRNAs) and proteins. The miRNAs are recently discovered small non-coding endogenous single-stranded RNAs that critically regulates the development, invasion and metastasis of cancers. They are altered in cancers and have the potential to serve as diagnostic markers for cancer. Moreover, deregulating their activity offers novel cancer therapeutic approaches. The availability of high throughput techniques for the identification of altered cellular molecules allowed their use in cancer diagnosis. Their application to a variety of body specimens from blood to tissues has been helpful for appreciating their use in the clinical context. The development of innovative antibodies for immunohistochemical detection of proteins also assists in diagnosis and risk stratification. Overall, the novel cancer diagnostic tools have extended their application as prognostic risk factors and can be used as targets for personalized medicine.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Molecular diagnostic schema representing routine biological specimens and their molecular alterations.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Novel diagnostic biomarkers used in the clinic for various types of cancers and their targeted drug therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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