Changes in glycoprotein content, altered glycosylations, and aberrant glycan structures are increasingly recognized as cancer hallmarks. Because breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer deaths in the world, it is highly urgent to find other reliable biomarkers for its initial diagnosis and to learn as much as possible about this disease. In this Review, the applications of lectins to a screening of potential breast cancer biomarkers published during recent years are overviewed. These data provide a deeper insight into the use of modern strategies, technologies, and scientific knowledge in glycoproteomic breast cancer research. Particular attention is concentrated on the use of lectin-based affinity techniques, applied independently or most frequently in combination with mass spectrometry, as an effective tool for the targeting, separation, and reliable identification of glycoprotein molecules. Individual procedures and lectins used in published glycoproteomic studies of breast-cancer-related glycoproteins are discussed. The summarized approaches have the potential for use in diagnostic and predictive applications. Finally, the use of lectins is briefly discussed from the view of their future applications in the analysis of glycoproteins in cancer.

中文翻译：

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基于凝集素的亲和技术在乳腺癌糖蛋白组学中的应用：综述。

糖蛋白含量的变化、糖基化的改变和异常的聚糖结构越来越被认为是癌症的标志。由于乳腺癌是世界上最常见的癌症死亡原因之一，因此迫切需要寻找其他可靠的生物标志物进行初步诊断，并尽可能多地了解这种疾病。在这篇综述中，概述了凝集素在筛选近年来发表的潜在乳腺癌生物标志物方面的应用。这些数据为在糖蛋白组学乳腺癌研究中使用现代策略、技术和科学知识提供了更深入的了解。特别注意使用基于凝集素的亲和技术，独立应用或最常与质谱结合应用，作为靶向的有效工具，糖蛋白分子的分离和可靠鉴定。讨论了在已发表的乳腺癌相关糖蛋白糖蛋白组学研究中使用的单个程序和凝集素。总结的方法具有用于诊断和预测应用的潜力。最后，从凝集素在癌症糖蛋白分析中的未来应用的角度简要讨论了凝集素的用途。