Application of proteomic technologies to cytologic specimens. A review.

With the increasing use of molecular biology techniques in routine pathology practice, it seems reasonable that their application to cytologic specimens will become popular in the near future. Proteomics is a novel area of research that involves the global analysis of tissue proteins using diverse technologies, such as 2-D gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics. This review discusses recent applications of proteomic analysis to cytologic specimens as well as its potential in the diagnosis of neoplastic and nonneoplastic disease.