ABSTRACT
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18.1 INTRODUCTION
The chapters of this textbook have been assembled to provide an overview of some of the most exciting areas of recent research employing novel methodologies in the field of surrogate tissue analysis. Nonetheless, it is readily appreciated that the actual topic of this textbook is neither novel nor comprehensive in its scope: for instance, there are many examples of analytes in surrogate tissues that have already become accepted, if not validated, biomarkers of disease (prostate specific antigen, serum cholesterol, etc.), and the work presented in this book highlights a fraction
of the expression analysis approaches currently being conducted to identify additional biomarkers in surrogate tissues. The recent “omic” explosion (certainly not yet fully erupted) has enabled exploration of surrogate tissues to an extent never before possible.1 Undoubtedly, the coming years of scientific investigation will bring a large number of novel biomarkers in clinically accessible tissues to light, with the hope that these biomarkers will influence human health and biomedical knowledge to an extent never before imagined.
