Tumor Microenvironment–Released Peptides: Could They Form the Basis for an Early-Diagnosis Breast Cancer Test?

Summary: The January 2014 issue of Clinical Chemistry is devoted to the area of women's health. It includes a multi-center report on the application of measuring the circulating products of the proteolytic enzyme carboxypeptidase-N for the early detection of breast cancer. Accompanying that paper was an editorial by Eleftherios Diamandis on the tumor microenvironment and if released peptides could form the basis for early diagnosis breast cancer tests.