Proteomic analysis of lung biopsies: Differential protein expression profile between peritumoral and tumoral tissue.

The cellular proteome shows a dynamic profile and is subjected to changes in response to various stimuli and disease progression. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in industrialized countries. In an attempt to find new disease markers, patients suffering from lung carcinoma have been selected to achieve differential protein expression patterns between normal and neoplasic tissue. After two-dimensional electrophoresis, the spots of interest were digested and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) peptide mass fingerprinting. This information will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the disease progression and might constitute a method to complement histopathological diagnosis.