Journal News

Scientists identify pan-cancer biomarkers

Ecem Arpaci
By Ecem Arpaci
April 30, 2025

Genomics and transcriptomics have successfully identified many therapeutic targets for cancer. However, changes in protein abundances and their chemical modifications can also drive tumor progression. To consider this additional dimension, Guo-sheng Hu, Zao-zao Zheng, Yao-hui He, Du-chuang Wang and colleagues at Xiamen University analyzed RNA and protein data from thousands of patients with 13 cancer types. They published their findings in Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. Using bioinformatics tools, they identified upregulated and downregulated genes specific to each cancer type as well as genes common to most types analyzed.

DNA ligase encircles the double helix to repair a broken strand of DNA.
Tom Ellenberger, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, via Wikimedia Commons
DNA ligase encircles the double helix to repair a broken strand of DNA.

The team discovered that tissue-specific genes were downregulated at both RNA and protein levels in all cancer types, indicating a loss of tissue identity. They showed that many genes involved in messenger RNA splicing, interferon pathway, fatty acid metabolism, and complement coagulation cascade, were dysregulated across several cancer types. The authors also found that ADH1B, the alcohol dehydrogenase that converts ethanol to acetaldehyde, was significantly downregulated in all cancer types. Conversely, the ribonucleotide regulatory subunit RRM2 was overexpressed. These proteins are examples of potential pan-cancer biomarkers, which can be used to discern cancer tissues from normal cells and potentially inform novel therapeutic strategies.

Effective cancer treatment also requires knowledge of the tumor’s stage of progression. To identify biomarkers for each tumor stage, the team analyzed how the cancer proteome changed throughout tumor progression. They used these findings to build models for tumor stage classification of several cancer types based on these biomarkers. They further constructed prognostic risk stratification models for corresponding cancer types based on dysregulated genes. They found that these models, when combined with the tumor-node-metastasis classification system, predicted cancer patient prognosis more accurately than either approach individually.

Protein-based approaches like these could be the key to better understanding cancer mechanisms and developing better treatments. Inhibitor drugs targeting RRM2 and other differentially expressed proteins identified in this study could be used to treat a range of cancer types and will be investigated further in future studies.

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
Ecem Arpaci
Ecem Arpaci

Ecem Arpaci is a biochemistry student at Imperial College London and a research intern at Radboud University Medical Center. She is an ASBMB Today volunteer contributor.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in Science

Science highlights or most popular articles

Hope for a cure hangs on research
Essay

Hope for a cure hangs on research

July 17, 2025

Amid drastic proposed cuts to biomedical research, rare disease families like Hailey Adkisson’s fight for survival and hope. Without funding, science can’t “catch up” to help the patients who need it most.

Before we’ve lost what we can’t rebuild: Hope for prion disease
Feature

Before we’ve lost what we can’t rebuild: Hope for prion disease

July 15, 2025

Sonia Vallabh and Eric Minikel, a husband-and-wife team racing to cure prion disease, helped develop ION717, an antisense oligonucleotide treatment now in clinical trials. Their mission is personal — and just getting started.

Defeating deletions and duplications
News

Defeating deletions and duplications

July 11, 2025

Promising therapeutics for chromosome 15 rare neurodevelopmental disorders, including Angelman syndrome, Dup15q syndrome and Prader–Willi syndrome.

Using 'nature’s mistakes' as a window into Lafora disease
Feature

Using 'nature’s mistakes' as a window into Lafora disease

July 10, 2025

After years of heartbreak, Lafora disease families are fueling glycogen storage research breakthroughs, helping develop therapies that may treat not only Lafora but other related neurological disorders.

Cracking cancer’s code through functional connections
News

Cracking cancer’s code through functional connections

July 2, 2025

A machine learning–derived protein cofunction network is transforming how scientists understand and uncover relationships between proteins in cancer.

Gaze into the proteomics crystal ball
In-person Conference

Gaze into the proteomics crystal ball

July 1, 2025

The 15th International Symposium on Proteomics in the Life Sciences symposium will be held August 17–21 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.