Controversies in Proteomics

A Lancet paper published two years ago detailing a promising but highly novel approach to detecting ovarian cancer, one of the deadliest cancers, continues to be the subject of great controversy in cancer circles. The test uses proteomic pattern profiling to detect the cancer, with a more than 95% accuracy in early studies, but no one knows what the patterns are made of. The NCI and two large reference labs are pushing ahead to get the test into the clinic, on the premise that as long as it is so good at detecting cancer, a lack of understanding of the underlying biochemistry isn't an insurmountable hurdle to acceptance.