ABSTRACT
Genomics-proteomics The human genome consists of approximately 34 000 genes encoding numerous protein structures in the body. Disease-specific aberrations of gene expression profiles are being discovered with ever-increasing speed, and are therefore unraveling the underlying ‘molecular pathology’ of cancer. Thus, innumerable molecular structures can potentially serve as novel tissue specific markers for oncological imaging in vivo. High-throughput anaylsis tools in genomics and proteomics help to identify new target molecules which are specifically regulated (up-and/or downregulation) in cancer. The term functional genomics refers to the systematic generation and analysis of information on what specific genes do. Moreover, the genome-wide analysis of gene expression (analysis of the transcriptome), the analysis of protein expression levels (proteomics), and their phenotypic effects are fundamental research advances which will help to discover ever new relevant targets for oncology in general, and imaging in oncological disorders specifically.
