Open Access Research Article Elamin et al., J Cancer Sci Ther 2017, 9:10 DOI: 10.4172/1948-5956.1000494 J Cancer Sci Ther, an open access journal ISSN: 1948-5956 Volume 9(10) 705-708 (2017) - 705 Journal of Cancer Science & Therapy J o u r n a l o f C a n c e r S c i e n c e & T h e r a p y ISSN: 1948-5956 Keywords: Breast cancer; Tumor markers; Proteomics; 2D-PAGE; Mass spectrometry Abbreviations: 2DE: Two-Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis; α1- AT: Alpha-1 Anti-Trypsin; DTT: Dithiothreitol; Pin1: Peptidylprolyl Cis-Trans Isomerase; PMF: Peptide Mass Fingerprinting; PrdxV: Peroxiredoxin V; ROS Reactive Oxygen Species; SDS PAGE: Sodium Dodecyl SulfatePolyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis; MALDI TOF: Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization - Time of Flight; Mass Spectrometry; IPG: Immobilized pH Gradient; IEF: Iso-Electric Focusing Introduction Worldwide, breast cancer (BC) ranks as the top cancer among women, accounting for 23% of the total cancer cases and the principal cause of cancer death (14%) among females [1]. In Sudan, breast cancer is considered as the most frequent hospital treated malignancy, accounting for about one-ffh of all cancers reported in both sexes [2]. Among Sudanese women, breast and cervical Cancers account for about 50% of all cancers [3]. Proteomic techniques are powerful tools to help in the identifcation of tumor markers. Tese markers are thought to be helpful in the clinical management of cancer patients, assisting in diagnostic, staging, evaluation of therapeutic response, detection of recurrence and metastasis, and the development of new treatment modalities [4]. Tere are few breast tumor markers being used routinely in clinics, such as follow up molecular markers (CA 15-3, CA 27.29 and CEA), markers of prognostic and/or therapeutic value (hormone receptors, HER-2, Ki-67, p53 proteins), and the genes for hereditary breast cancer [5]. Nevertheless, the number of biomarkers reaching routine clinical use remains unacceptably low. Terefore, the search is still ongoing for biomarkers to improve early and specifc detection and disease monitoring [6]. Te present study aims to investigate the protein profles of a panel of Sudanese breast cancer tissues and controls, with the target of identifying proteins that could potentially be used as tumor markers. *Corresponding author: Muntaser E. Ibrahim, Institute of Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum, Sudan, Tel: 24911793267; E-mail: mibrahim@iend.org Received October 17, 2016; Accepted October 25, 2017; Published October 27, 2017 Citation: Elamin A, Franz T, Ibrahim ME (2017) Identifcation of Potential Tumor Markers in Sudanese Breast Cancer Patients Using a Proteomic Approach. J Cancer Sci Ther 9: 705-708. doi:10.4172/1948-5956.1000494 Copyright: © 2017 Elamin A, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Identification of Potential Tumor Markers in Sudanese Breast Cancer Patients Using a Proteomic Approach Amany Elamin 1,2 , Thomas Franz 3 and Muntaser E Ibrahim 1 * 1 Institiute of Endemic Diseases, University of Khartoum, Sudan 2 Commission for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, National Center for Research, Sudan 3 Proteomics Core Facility, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany Abstract Breast cancer (BC) is considered as a major health problem in Sudan, being the most frequent hospital treated malignancy and the commonest cancer affecting Sudanese females (34%). Proteomics provides tools that investigate the precise molecular defect(s) in breast cancer tissue. Moreover, it plays a growingly important role in tumor markers discovery. In this study, a proteomic assay (2D-PAGE) was used to investigate the protein profles of a panel of 12 Sudanese breast malignant tissues and 12 matched controls. Protein spots of interest were excised manually, and in-gel digested using trypsin. Proteins were identifed using mass spectrometry (MALDI- TOF). Mascot program was used to search protein databases for matching peptides from known proteins. The overall profle was relatively similar, the preliminary results identifed three proteins to be differentially expressed, suggesting that they may perform a role in breast neoplasia. Although the number of samples investigated in this study is comparatively small, to allow authoritative conclusions, the study provided three proteins that might be potential tumor markers in Sudanese breast cancer patients requiring further investigations and validation. Materials and Methods Tis is a case-control hospital-based study. A panel of 12 Sudanese breast cancer patients (12 tumor-control pairs) were recruited in this study. Tissue biopsies were collected by Breast Cancer Research Group members at the Institute of Endemic Disease, University of Khartoum, from hospitals around Khartoum State. Both fresh normal and biopsy tissues had been obtained from breast cancer patients 20-30 min afer surgery from patients who did not receive preoperative treatment following the appropriate ethical procedure. Tissue samples were snap frozen in liquid nitrogen prior to transport to the Molecular Biology lab at the Institute of Endemic Disease. Te samples were stored in a -80°C freezer. A fraction of each sample had been stored as archival material to be used for future needs. Sample preparation Tissue protein extraction had been accomplished at the Department of Molecular Biology, Institute of Endemic Disease, University of Khartoum, Sudan. Tissue Samples were homogenized by freezing with liquid nitrogen and hand grinding with a cooled mortar and pestle to a fne powder. An adequate amount of sample was suspended in lysis bufer (9 M Urea, 4% CHAPS, 100 Mm DTT, 1% Pharmalyte pH 3-10, and Protease inhibitor cocktail). Te suspension was vortexed for 30 seconds to facilitate protein solubilization, incubated for 1 hour at room temperature, and centrifuged (16000 g, 30 minutes). Te supernatant (crude extract) was transferred to a clean tube, stored at 20°C.