Prostate cancer sample preparation

In one study by Hood et al., 282 of 1153 identified proteins were identified by at least 2 unique tryptic peptides from FFPE prostate cancer (PCa) tissue.9 According to the gene ontology classification of the proteins identified, -65% of proteins were predicted to be intracellular proteins, while -50% of the total human proteome is predicted to be located in the intracellular compartment. Additionally, 20% of the proteins identified in the PCa tissue were classified as membrane proteins, which is significantly less than the predicted 40% for the human proteome. This relative disparity is not unexpected, considering the Liquid Tissue sample preparation kit lacks specific protocols for membrane protein extraction. The Liquid Tissue method has also been used for proteomics studies of a variety of FFPE tissue samples, including pancreatic tumors,28 squamous cell carcinoma,4 and oral human papillomavirus lesions.27... 

While the body of evidence seems strong, several studies have found either no or weak associations between lycopene consumption and disease. Some of this may be explained by the fact that blood lycopene concentrations were much lower in these studies than in those that showed a beneficial effect. Thus, future dietary based studies need to include blood sampling to further define the range of blood concentrations of lycopene in the population, ideally with method standardization so that studies can be directly compared. The prostate cancer association is usually stronger for cooked tomato products rather than raw tomatoes or total lycopene intake. This too supports the idea that it is the whole food, with a broad array of nutrients and nonnutritive bioactive components, that is important for overall health rather than isolated compounds. It is possible that the beneficial effects of tomatoes are increased by preparing a concentrated product that enhances the nutrient bioavailability, as processed and cooked tomatoes are more closely associated to decreased risk of disease than either raw tomatoes or tomato juice. 

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