Proteomics in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer in children and one of the success stories in cancer therapeutics. Risk-directed therapy based on clinical, biologic and genetic features has played a significant role in this accomplishment. Despite the observed improvement in survival rates, leukemia remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths. Implementation of next-generation genomic and transcriptomic sequencing tools has illustrated the genomic landscape of ALL. However, the underlying dynamic changes at protein level still remain a challenge. Proteomics is a cutting-edge technology aimed at deciphering the mechanisms, pathways, and the degree to which the proteome impacts leukemia subtypes. Advances in mass spectrometry enable high-throughput collection of global proteomic profiles, representing an opportunity to unveil new biological markers and druggable targets. The purpose of this narrative review article is to provide a comprehensive overview of studies that have utilized applications of proteomics in an attempt to gain insight into the pathogenesis and identification of biomarkers in childhood ALL.

Evolving Aspects of Prognostic Factors for Pediatric Cancer

“…The landmark article of this issue by Kourti et al provides an extended review of the unanswered challenge of modern omics technology, especially proteomics, in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) [1]. Proteomic evaluation has impacted the study of solid tumors by increasing the understanding of the underlying tumor biology and, thus, developing promising therapies in the field of oncology by identifying relevant signatures for different cancers [2].…”