Squamous cells carcinoma (SCC) is the second most frequent of the keratinocyte-derived malignancies after basal cell carcinoma and is associated with a significant psychosocial and economic burden for both the patient himself and society. Reported risk factors for the malignant transformation of keratinocytes and development of SCC include ultraviolet light exposure, followed by chronic scarring and inflammation, exposure to chemical compounds (arsenic, insecticides, and pesticides), and immune-suppression. Despite various available treatment methods and recent advances in noninvasive or minimal invasive diagnostic techniques, the risk recurrence and metastasis are far from being negligible, even in patients with negative histological margins and lymph nodes. Analyzing normal, dysplastic, and malignant keratinocyte proteome holds special promise for novel biomarker discovery in SCC that could be used in the future for early detection, risk assessment, tumor monitoring, and development of targeted therapeutic strategies.

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is the most frequently encountered type of skin lymphoma in humans. CTCL encompasses multiple variants, but the most common types are mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sezary syndrome (SS). While most cases of MF run a mild course over a period of many years, other subtypes of CTCL are very aggressive. The rapidly expanding fields of proteomics and genomics have not only helped increase knowledge concerning the carcinogenesis and tumor biology of CTCL but also led to the discovery of novel markers for targeted therapy. Although multiple biomarkers linked to CTCL have been known for a relatively long time (e.g., CD25, CD45, CD45RA, and CD45R0), compared to other cancers (lymphoma, melanoma, colon carcinoma, head and neck cancer, renal cancer, and cutaneous B-cell lymphoma), information about the antigenicity of CTCL remains relatively limited and no dependable protein marker for CTCL has been discovered. Considering the aggressive nature of some types of CTCL, it is necessary to identify circulating molecules that can help in the early diagnosis, differentiation from inflammatory skin diseases (psoriasis, nummular eczema), and aid in predicting the prognosis and evolution of this pathology. This review aims to bring together some of the information concerning protein markers linked to CTCL, in an effort to further the understanding of the convolute processes involved in this complex pathology.

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