Shotgun proteomics coupled to nanoparticle-based biomarker enrichment reveals a novel panel of extracellular matrix proteins as candidate serum protein biomarkers for early-stage breast cancer detection.

Using a nanoparticle-based protein enrichment technology, we identified and verified a highly specific and sensitive protein signature indicative of early-stage breast cancer with no false positives when assessing benign and inflammatory controls. These markers have been previously reported in cell-ECM interaction and tumor microenvironment biology. Further studies with larger cohorts are needed to evaluate whether this biomarker panel improves the positive predictive value of mammography for breast cancer detection.