Breast cancer is the first cause of death between 35 and 55 years. Genetic alterations and modifications in gene expression are found during different steps of
tumor progression. These changes are translated at the
protein level where quantitative and qualitative modifications are found in
tumor compared to normal samples. Similarly to studies aimed at deciphering transcriptional changes important in
cancer, proteomic approaches allow the global and comparative study of
proteins in normal and pathological samples. The objective of this article is to present common proteomic methods and to review the first published results concerning proteomics studies applied to
breast cancer with an emphasis on reports obtained using the SELDI-TOF MS (Surface Enhanced
Laser Desorption Ionization Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry). In
breast cancer, it is possible to explore the tumoral
proteome and/or the blood derived
proteome. The first studies are aimed at globally understanding the disease while the latter are aimed at discovering
serum proteins or
biomarkers useful for the early detection, diagnosis, prognosis and management of
cancer. Promising results are obtained using these emerging methods and these novel
biomarkers should be validated in the future and will have an important impact for the management of
breast cancer patients.